• Burmese
Thursday, November 30, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
25 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Features
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Features
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home Business

Thein Sein Enjoys Myitsone Praise as Dams on Salween Secretly Proceed

by William Boot
May 9, 2013
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 4 mins read
A A
Thein Sein Enjoys Myitsone Praise as Dams on Salween Secretly Proceed

A map shows the location of the dam sites situated along the Salween River in eastern Burma (Photo: Salween Watch)

7.6k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

President Thein Sein’s surprise suspension of the Chinese-led hydroelectric dam on the Irrawaddy River at Myitsone in northwestern Burma secured him widespread praise at home and abroad and seemingly dismayed China.

This was a project that would help solve power shortages in China’s Yunnan Province by generating up to 6,000 megawatts of electricity to pump north across the border.

RelatedPosts

Myanmar IDPs Stranded by Junta Troops in Northern Shan State Face a Long Walk Home

Myanmar IDPs Stranded by Junta Troops in Northern Shan State Face a Long Walk Home

November 30, 2023
1.1k
Myanmar Junta Relying on Airstrikes in Loikaw Fighting: Resistance

Myanmar Junta Relying on Airstrikes in Loikaw Fighting: Resistance

November 30, 2023
605
Myanmar Junta Plays Up ‘Strong’ China Ties a Week After Anti-Beijing Protests

Myanmar Junta Plays Up ‘Strong’ China Ties a Week After Anti-Beijing Protests

November 30, 2023
1.1k

But away from the mass media spotlight, environmentally questionable large hydro dams further east in Burma on the Salween River are quietly going ahead with the approval of the Thein Sein government.

Approval for a clutch of dams on the Salween which collectively will generate much more electricity than the Myitsone project has been given in the old-fashioned military regime way—without any public consultation, independent environmental impact assessments, or regard for the simmering military-ethnic conflicts in their midst.

Apart from a brief announcement earlier this year by the Ministry of Electric Power, the Naypyidaw government has so far failed to identify who will build the Salween dams, who will benefit from the electricity generated and how the local communities will be compensated.

The ministry said approval had been given for six projects on the Salween in Shan and Karen states.

A map shows the location of the dam sites situated along the Salween River in eastern Burma (Photo: Salween Watch)
A map shows the location of the dam sites situated along the Salween River in eastern Burma (Photo: Salween Watch)

They include hydro dams at Tasang and Hatgyi which have been debated for years and have had a number of Chinese and Thai backers, including the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, or EGAT. They would have a combined installed capacity of 15,000 megawatts, according to the US-based environmental lobby group International Rivers.

That is about four times Burma’s present total electricity producing capability.

“These projects are proceeding in areas where conflict is continuing between ethnic resistance forces and the Burmese Army, and are shrouded in secrecy,” says International Rivers. “Investment for these projects will come from five Chinese and three Burmese corporations, and Thailand’s Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand.”

The Beijing-based environment lobby group China Dialogue has identified three large Chinese state-owned companies it says now have contracts from the Burmese government to proceed with dams construction on the Salween.

They are Sinohydro Corporation, China Three Gorges Corporation and China Southern Power Grid.

The Three Gorges Corp developed the world’s biggest hydroelectric system on the Yangtze River in China which has caused considerable environmental problems since its completion. China Southern is not a dam builder but an electricity transmission infrastructure builder responsible for all power supply in southern China.

“Tensions remain high around China’s role in developing dams in Myanmar largely due to questions about who will benefit,” says China Dialogue, which also has offices in London.

“In a country where energy shortages occur daily and about a third of people live below the poverty line, many criticize the development of natural resources for the sake of providing energy to neighboring states.

“Local communities and internally displaced persons are concerned that the dam plans will lead to increased militarization, human rights abuses, environmental destruction and loss of local livelihoods,” China Dialogue noted.

The risk of armed conflict around two of the Salween dam sites has heightened recently with demands by the Burmese Army for local militias to move away.

The army’s Southeast Command ordered Karen militia forces to leave an area near the Hatgyi dam site they are occupying by May 4, but the Karen have not complied.

This follows an earlier order by the Burmese Army to the Shan State Army-North to vacate their base beside the Salween which they have occupied under the terms of a ceasefire agreement.

Their base is near the sites of two planned dams. One is at Nong Pha and one at Man Tung on the Nam Ma tributary of the Salween and they will have a combined electricity generating capacity of 1,200 megawatts, according to the Burma Rivers Network NGO.

“To my knowledge, EGAT International is actively involved in the Hatgyi dam, but has tried to keep itself more behind the scenes,” International Rivers’ Thailand coordinator Pianporn Deetes told The Irrawaddy on May 8.

“EGAT International and Sinohydro are taking advantage of the conflict situation [along the Salween] to proceed with their investment. Most local ethnic people have already been forced to flee to the border and were not given a say in the decision to build the dams.

“Dams on the Salween including Hatgyi, Tasang, and others, have been used as a weapon to control the conflict areas.”

The Bangkok government is anxious to reduce the country’s dependence on natural gas to fuel electricity generation. Thailand’s own gas resources in the Gulf of Thailand will decline after 2021 without new discoveries and the Thais already import about 30 percent of their needs from Burmese fields.

There is a virtual moratorium on new dam construction within Thailand because of vocal public opposition and EGAT is already co-financing development of a highly controversial hydro-dam directly on the Mekong River inside Laos.

EGAT is the main financial backer of the US $3.7 billion Xayaburi dam and Thailand will buy most of the electricity generated by the 1,260 megawatt capacity operation.

The Xayaburi project is going ahead despite objections by the governments of Cambodia and Vietnam, which share the Mekong downstream. They argue that the dam will disrupt river water flow and levels and undermine agriculture and fisheries.

EGAT has for a long time eyed the lower Salween’s potential to provide electricity to also help solve Thailand’s future power needs. It flows parallel to the Thai border and electricity could easily be transferred across it by power grid cable.

Meanwhile, at the upper end of the Salween in Burma, China could yet get the electricity it needs for Yunnan Province—without the Myitsone dam project.

Your Thoughts …
Previous Post

Indonesia Anti-Terror Squad Kills 7 Militants

Next Post

Bomb Blasts Rock City in Thailand’s Restive South

William Boot

William Boot

Similar Picks:

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang

November 28, 2023
73k
Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State

Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State

November 29, 2023
57.3k
Drone Attack at Myanmar-China Border Gate Causes Over $14m in Losses

Drone Attack at Myanmar-China Border Gate Causes Over $14m in Losses

November 27, 2023
29k
Brotherhood Alliance Marching Towards Capital of Myanmar’s Kokang Region

Brotherhood Alliance Marching Towards Capital of Myanmar’s Kokang Region

November 25, 2023
26.5k
General Close to Myanmar Junta Boss Placed Under House Arrest, Interrogated for Corruption

General Close to Myanmar Junta Boss Placed Under House Arrest, Interrogated for Corruption

September 14, 2023
23.3k
Three Rebel Army Chiefs Predict Rapid Fall of Myanmar Junta

Three Rebel Army Chiefs Predict Rapid Fall of Myanmar Junta

August 18, 2023
21.4k
Load More
Next Post

Bomb Blasts Rock City in Thailand's Restive South

Govt Army Abuse Against Women, Girls in Shan State Requires Investigation, Activists Say

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Echoes of 2017 Genocide as Myanmar Junta Imposes ‘Four Cuts’ on Rakhine

Echoes of 2017 Genocide as Myanmar Junta Imposes ‘Four Cuts’ on Rakhine

1 week ago
7.1k
Illusion of Myanmar Military’s Indispensability Has Been Shattered

Illusion of Myanmar Military’s Indispensability Has Been Shattered

2 days ago
5k

Most Read

  • Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State

    Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Chief Says ‘Foreign Experts’ Helping in Offensive Against Military

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Airstrikes Force Sagaing Resistance Retreat

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • FACT CHECK: Exposing the Myanmar Junta’s Lies on Operation 1027 

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Features
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.