• Burmese
Monday, July 14, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
29 °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
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • 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
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Myitsone Residents Protest World Bank’s Hydropower Assessment Workshop

Nyein Nyein by Nyein Nyein
February 1, 2017
in Burma
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
Protesters gather outside the Palm Spring Hotel in Myitkyina on Tuesday, while representatives from Burma’s government, China Power Investment Corporation and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation were holding a workshop on hydropower dam projects. / KDNG Kachin / Facebook

Protesters gather outside the Palm Spring Hotel in Myitkyina on Tuesday, while representatives from Burma’s government, China Power Investment Corporation and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation were holding a workshop on hydropower dam projects. / KDNG Kachin / Facebook

11.1k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Myitsone residents demonstrated in Myitkyina, Kachin State on Tuesday against assessment workshops for future hydropower projects financed by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC).

More than 50 protesters gathered in front of the Palm Spring Resort Hotel, where representatives from Burma’s government, the state-owned China Power Investment Corporation (CPI) and the IFC were holding the workshop.

They said they feared a resumption of the multi-billion dollar Myitsone hydropower dam construction on the confluence of Irrawaddy River in Kachin State, highlighting displacement which could be caused by potential flooding, and environmental and social consequences for residents along Burma’s major waterway nationwide.

RelatedPosts

Mekong River Body Detects Heavy Metal Contamination

Mekong River Body Detects Heavy Metal Contamination

July 7, 2025
635
Thirteen Myanmar junta aircraft shot down since coup

Thirteen Myanmar junta aircraft shot down since coup

July 5, 2025
1.5k
Myanmar, Thailand Ramp Up Cooperation on Border Issues

Myanmar, Thailand Ramp Up Cooperation on Border Issues

July 4, 2025
1.6k

“We do not want those dams, therefore we protested,” explained Ja Hkawng, from the local organization Mungthying Rawng Jat, which translates to the Grassroots People’s Development Group.

Demonstrators urged the civilian-led National League for Democracy (NLD) government to honor locals’ desires and called for support from citizens across the country in objecting to dam construction.

In September 2011, former President U Thein Sein postponed the China-backed Myitsone dam project following the public’s widespread call to halt it.

“We have been protesting against mega hydropower dam projects for a long time, and we will continue until it stops,” Ja Hkawng told The Irrawaddy. “But the government has not acted decisively on it yet. It seems more like they are backing the companies.”

A bloc of Kachin political parties—the Kachin Political Parties Coordination Committee (KPCC)—shared their letter with the IFC stating that they want no dam construction in the Myitsone area, as it is a conflict zone.

“We explained that as there is still fighting in the area [between the Burma Army and the Kachin Independence Army], as well as the presence of tens of thousands of internally displaced people, there must be a moratorium on all such large projects,” said Jaw San Naw, the secretary of both the Kachin Democratic Party and the KPCC.

“Therefore, we call on international banks and companies not to promote such projects until there is peace in our country,” read their statement.

Jaw San Naw added that now it is not the right time for companies to sponsor large-scale investment projects, particularly while ignoring the Kachin people’s suffering and their “lack of constitutional rights to make decisions regarding natural resources in their homeland.”

Citing CPI’s visit to Myitkyina in 2016 to discuss a potential restart of the Myitsone dam project, locals said they were worried that the World Bank’s IFC-sponsored workshops in the Kachin State capital, and in other cities, could be pushing for the postponed dam projects to resume.

The NLD government formed the Irrawaddy Myitsone Inquiry Commission last August, tasked with evaluating the hydropower project on the Irrawaddy River. The commission submitted its first assessment to President U Htin Kyaw in November, meeting its projected deadline. Committee members have said they will come up with a full report at a later date, as field studies are ongoing, but no update was available at the time of reporting.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: DamsDevelopmentEnvironmentIrrawaddy RiverKachin StateNatural Resources
Nyein Nyein

Nyein Nyein

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

China-Backed Illegal Rare Earth Mining Surging in Northern Myanmar
Burma

China-Backed Illegal Rare Earth Mining Surging in Northern Myanmar

by Yan Naing
July 15, 2022
34.8k

A Myanmar military-backed militia in Kachin State is protecting Chinese-run mines that produce coveted rare earth minerals used in hi-tech...

Read moreDetails
‘Midnight Massacre’ at IDP Camp in Myanmar a War Crime: KIA
Burma

‘Midnight Massacre’ at IDP Camp in Myanmar a War Crime: KIA

by The Irrawaddy
October 10, 2023
18.8k

Death toll expected to rise after bombs obliterated village for internally displaced persons in Kachin State shortly before midnight on...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Troops Escape to China After KIA Attack
Burma

Myanmar Junta Troops Escape to China After KIA Attack

by Saw Reh
January 23, 2024
14.2k

The Kachin Independence Army says it seized around 30 regime soldiers in Mansi Township along the Chinese border. 

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Military Loses Historic Outpost on Road to China in Kachin State
Burma

Myanmar Military Loses Historic Outpost on Road to China in Kachin State

by Hein Htoo Zan
April 1, 2024
11k

After more than 60 years of operation, the key junta outpost on the road linking Bhamo to the border with...

Read moreDetails
KIA Seizes Final Border Force HQ Despite Chinese Pressure
War Against the Junta

KIA Seizes Final Border Force HQ Despite Chinese Pressure

by The Irrawaddy
November 1, 2024
10.6k

The Kachin Independence Army has defeated all three Border Guard Force battalion headquarters along the Chinese frontier in Kachin State....

Read moreDetails
KIA: Nine Myanmar Junta Strongholds Seized in Two Days
Burma

KIA: Nine Myanmar Junta Strongholds Seized in Two Days

by Hein Htoo Zan
March 23, 2024
9.5k

The Kachin Independence Army says all the regime positions near its Laiza headquarters have now fallen.

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Front pages of the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar contrasted with private daily papers on Jan. 30. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)

Journalists Weigh in on Front Page Omission of U Ko Ni’s Death in State Media

Choi Soon-sil, the woman at the center of the South Korean political scandal and long-time friend of President Park Geun-hye, arrives for a hearing for South Korean President Park Geun-hye's impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea, January 16, 2017.  / Reuters

South Korea’s Envoy to Burma Summoned Home

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

5 days ago
1.2k
China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

6 days ago
1.1k

Most Read

  • ‘Las Vegas in Laos’: the Riverside City Awash With Crime

    ‘Las Vegas in Laos’: the Riverside City Awash With Crime

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Chief Thanks Trump for Shutting Down VOA and RFA

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • KIA Denies Rumor Chief Under House Arrest in China

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Deploying Conscripts in Major Push to Reclaim Lost Territory

    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

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
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
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • 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.