Myanmar Suggests Downsizing, Relocation of Dam that Frayed China Ties

Local Editor

A top Myanmar investment official on Tuesday suggested alternatives such as scaling back or relocating a stalled Chinese-backed dam project that has strained ties between the neighbors.

Myanmar angered China in 2011 when its government suspended the $3.6 billion Myitsone hydro-power dam in the country’s north amid environmental concerns.

Thaung Tun, chairman of Myanmar’s investment commission, listed several problems, from an earthquake fault line running under the project site to a large catchment area affecting residents, when asked in regard to the issue of the dam at an investment conference.

At the conference in the capital Naypyitaw, Thaung Tun told reporters, “Catchment area would be twice the size of Singapore. This would mean that a lot of villages will have been displaced from their accessible land. That is the issue”.

Thaung Tun listed several alternatives, including scaling back the dam, moving it to a different location, or offering the operator an alternative project. He did not say if the government had a preferred option.

Myanmar had to consider its relations with China, its largest trade partner, and “was working hard to find the solution,” he said.

Spearheading these efforts is a commission launched by Aung San Suu Kyi’s government, which came to power in 2016, to review the dam. Myanmar also began informal talks with Beijing and dam operator Yunnan International Power Investment, a unit of State Power Investment Corp.

China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Beijing has previously said it would “maintain communication” with Myanmar over the project.

Finding a solution is critical for Suu Kyi, who has benefited from Beijing’s support at the United Nations following a 2017 army crackdown that drove 730,000 Rohingya Muslims out of the former Burma.

Myanmar also needs Beijing’s help in peace talks with several ethnic armed groups operating along northern and eastern borders with China.

Thaung Tun said original plans for the dam were not “thought out” and failed to consider the impact on the community and the environment.

The dam in the northern state of Kachin is very unpopular. Suu Kyi’s ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) lost a seat in Kachin by-elections last year and party officials have voiced concern about their popularity in ethnic minority areas ahead of the 2020 general election.

China’s Yunnan province, the planned destination for about 90 percent of the dam’s electricity, now has a power surplus, Thaung Tun said.

“There’s no need for this dam now,” he said.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team