Electrical industry of burma/myanmar

AGREEMENT SIGNED ON COAL-FIRED THERMAL POWER PLANT FOR YANGON

Items previously filed under this heading can now be found at ELIP010

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SOUTH CHINA POWER COMPANIES TARGET RIVERS IN EASTERN SHAN STATE

Xiao Lingzhi, People's Net, 08/02/10. Edited and revised. Based on a translation by Kevin Li.

http://news.sohu.com/20100208/n270128118.shtml
The Yunnan Power Grid Company and SDIC Huajing Power Holdings have agreed to work together on two hydropower projects in Myanmar. The agreement which covers projects on the Namhka and Namlwi rivers in north-eastern Shan State was signed on 04/02/10 by Wang Wen, the Deputy General Manager of Yunnan Power Grid, and Hu Gang, Director of SDIC Huajing Power Holdings.
Commenting on the agreement Wang pointed out that both companies have a long history of co-operation which is now reaching a new stage through the hydropower development in Myanmar. He said that Yunnan Power Grid will establish mechanisms to co-ordinate its work on the project with the SDIC Group in order to maximize the outcome of the co-operative venture. Hu Gang said that SDIC welcomes the opportunity to manage the project jointly.
The Nam Lwi river originates in the village of Laba in Lancang Lahu Autonomous County in China's Yunnan Province, from which flows south through the Manxin mountains and enters Shan State in Myanmar. Eventually it it empties into the Mekong River along the eastern border of Myanmar. The hydropower project includes a six-dam cascade development, with a total installed capacity of about 396MW.
The Namhka river is a tributary of the Nu [Salween] River. It rises [in the Wa region] of north-eastern Myanmar and and flows south-west. The river's multi-year average flow is 224 cubic meters per second. The dam project on the Namhka will have an installed capacity of about 200-240MW.
At the end of 2008, Liao Ze-Long, General Manager of Yunnan Power Grid Corporation and Mr Hu signed a letter of intent with regard to their interest in co-operating in the two projects and submitted a development plan to Myanmar's Ministry of Electric Power No 1. In May and December of 2009, the Ministry confirmed the development plan. Up to now, the project pre-feasibility study has been completed, and the investigation work outside the Nam Hka River hydropower stations will be launched.
Website references:

http://www.alacrastore.com/company-snapshot/SDIC_Huajing_Power_Holdings_Co_Ltd-2508928

SDIC Huajing Power Holdings Co Ltd, No. 63 Baimiao Street, Jingmen, Hubei 448002 China

URL: http://www.sdicpower.com/

Thomson Reuters Business Description:

SDIC Huajing Power Holdings Company Ltd is a China-based company engaged in investment, generation, operation and sale of electric power. The Company operates power generation plants in Gansu, Yunnan, Jiangsu, Fujian, Anhui and Guangxi provinces, China. During the year ended December 31, 2008, the Company generated approximately 34.4 billion kilowatt-hours of electric power, its total installed capacity reached approximately 6.79 million kilowatts. As of December 31, 2008, the Company had six major subsidiaries and two affiliates, which involved in generation, development, construction and operation of electric power. [Shares of Huajing Power Holdings Co Ltd trade on the Shanghai exchange.]
http://eng.csg.cn/topic.php?channelID=13&topicID=17

Yunnan Power Grid Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the state-owned China Southern Power Grid Co., Ltd. Yunnan Power Grid Co is in charge of planning, construction, management and dispatching of the power grid in Yunnan Province. Yunnan power grid extends to cover a service area of 394,100 square kilometers and supplies electricity to 1.4 million customers. By the end of 2008, the company’s total assets amounted to 49.24 billion RMB, and the total number of employee was 56,715.

Map references
Topographic map references for the Nam Lwi (Nam Loi): Burma 1:250,000: Series U542, U.S. Army Map: NF 47-11: Kengtung. http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/burma/txu-oclc-6924198-nf47-11.jpg The Nam Lwi (Nam Loi) can be traced through much of its course on the Kengtung map. Not enough is yet known about the six cascades on the Nam Lwi (Nam Loi) to be able to provide map co-ordinates For the area where the Nam Lwi (Nam Loi) rises, see China 1:250,000 Series L500, U.S. Army Map NF 47-07: Lan Ts'ang http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/china/txu-oclc-10552568-nf47-7.jpg For the area where it empties into the Mekhong, see Indochina and Thailand 1:250,000, Series L509, U.S. Army Map NF 47-12: Muong Sing. http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/indochina_and_thailand/txu-oclc-6535632-nf47-12-2nd-ed.jpg
For the area where the Nam Kha rises see China 1:250,000 Series L500, U.S. Army Map NF 47-07: Lan Ts'ang. Note that the river forms the boundary between Burma/Myanmar and China in the northern part of its course. http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/china/txu-oclc-10552568-nf47-7.jpg The mid-river area of the Nam Kha can be found on Burma 1:250,000: Series U542, U.S. Army Map: NF 47-11: Kengtung. http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/burma/txu-oclc-6924198-nf47-11.jpg The lower part of the river can be found on Burma 1:250,000: Series U542, U.S. Army Map: NF 47-10: Lai Hka. http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/burma/txu-oclc-6924198-nf47-10.jpg It seems probable that the dam on the Nam Kha will be located in the middle section of the river.
http://www.burmariversnetwork.org/images/stories/publications/english/salween_watch_vol2.pdf

A map showing the location of the Nam Lwi and the Nam Kha in eastern Shan state can be found in Vol 2, No 1, of Salween Watch Newsletter, p. 2, along with a brief analysis of the political and military implications of dam construction in this region.

Additional references
Data summary: Nam Lwi

Nam Kha
NLM, 15/01/11. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs11/NLM2011-01-15.pdf

EPM-1 Zaw Min receives Pres Liao Zelong of the Yunnan Power Grid Corp and Pres Hu Gang of the State Development & Investment Corp of the PRC for discussions concerning the implementation of the Namtlway and Namtkha hydropower projects.

NLM, 28/10/10. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs09/NLM2010-10-28.pdf

Hydropower projects on the Namlwe river include the Kengtung (96 megawatts), Wantapin (25 megawatts), Solu (165 megawatts), Mongpa (50 megawatts), Kengyan (28 megawatts) and the Hiku (88 megawatts). The project on the Namkha will be a 200-megawatts plant.

NLM, 07/03/10. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs08/NLM2010-03-07.pdf

The Special Projects Implementation Committee held a co-ordination meeting (1/2010) at the Operations Meeting Room of the office of the Commander-in-Chief (Army) in Nay Pyi Daw on 05/03/10. . . . At the meeting, EPM-1 Zaw Min reported . . . on seven projects to be implemented jointly with the investment of foreign companies [including] . . . the Namloi [Namlwi] hydropower project in Shan State East to generate 452 megawatts and the Namkha hydropower project in Shan State East to generate 200 megawatts

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CHINESE ENGINEERS PLANNING GRID CONNECTION WITH BURMA PROJECTS

William Boot, IRROL Business, 23/01/10. Edited.

http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17643
Chinese companies have begun drawing up plans for a power grid along [rivers of] the Irrawaddy [basin] in Burma—to transmit electricity into southwest China. An outline of the 15-year project was disclosed in a report published by China’s chief energy planning authority, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). The NDRC and several state enterprises, including China Power Investment Group and China International Engineering Consulting Corporation (CIECC), are involved in the planning.
An assessment report should be completed by the end of this year, Zhou Jiachong, a director of CIECC, states in the magazine China Investment.
Agreements signed in 2009 between these companies and the Burmese military government for hydroelectric development along [rivers] of the Irrawaddy basin would have a combined electricity generating capacity of 21,000 megawatts, said Zhou. “Myanmar is a smaller country with less population relative to China. Most of the electricity generated [by projects developed by PRC companies] will not be able to be consumed domestically. So for Chinese companies, they have to consider power transmission back to China when developing Myanmar's hydro-power resources,” said Zhou. Zhou said Chinese developers were moving into Burma because of the “difficulties of hydro-power development on China's international rivers.”
Additional references
For other articles on long distance transmission of power within and beyond Myanmar see the following: ‘South Korea’s KEPCO to study improving power transmission system’ (MT: 31/07/06), ‘Power trading in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS)’ (Appendix 14) and ‘Annex 1: National high-voltage grid system and maps’
For information on CPIC’s Myitsone hydropower project see the following key articles in the compendium: ‘Agreement signed for Upper Kachin hydel projects’ (Myitson)’ (NLM: 02/01/07), ‘Prime minister updated on the Myitson hydropower project’ (NLM: 25/01/11), ‘China’s Investment in Kachin dams seen as cause of conflict’ (IRROL; 16/06/11), ‘President Thein Sein orders suspension of Myitsone dam project’ (IRROL: 30/09/11), ‘CPI president responds to suspension of Myitsone agreement’ (Xinhua: 03/10/11) and ‘KDNG claims work continuing on CPI projects in Kachin State (IRROL: 05/03/12). For information on the Chipwenge hydropower project which was built to provide the electricity needed for the construction phases of the Myitsone and the Upper Cascades hydropower projects see: ‘Chipwi creek plant to power huge hydel project in Kachin state (Myanmar Times:24/03/08). For further information on the six Upper Cascades hydropower projects in Kachin State see: Appendix 32 (ELEP044). For reports on the environmental impact of all of CPIC’s hydropower projects in northern Kachin State see: ‘BANCA’S critical report on China-backed dam smothered’ (DVB: 18/07/11) and ‘China Power Investment EIA report on Upper Ayeyawady projects’ (CSPDR: G2011).
For information on hydropower projects of other PRC companies in Kachin State, see the following ‘Tapein-1 hydropower plant in Kachin state officially opened ‘ (NLM: 24/01/11), ‘Datang begins operations at Tapein river hydropower plant’ (Interfax: 03/09/10), and ‘Agreement on four hydro projects signed with Datang (Yunnan)’ (PRC Comm: 15/01/10)
From an article in the January 2010 issue of China Investment, a publication of the National Development and Reform Commission of the PRC. Translation thanks to Kevin Li. Text as posted 16/01/10 on

[e-mail]

Quoting Zhou Jiachong, Director of Electricity Office (II) of the Energy Business Department of China

International Engineering Consulting Corporation (CIECC): There are hydropower resources that are more difficult to develop, which involve the problems like resettlement and ecological impacts, and the mismatch between the sites of resources and its local market demand, i.e. the hydropower resources in Tibet, the border rivers shared between Russia and China, and the international rivers that originates in China. The development of hydropower resources in such rivers faces a higher degree of difficulty and needs further study and coordination. In the second half of 2009, the National Energy Bureau took up a major task. The bureau organized a study in the consumption of electricity from the dams in Southwestern China and outside the China border. In March 2009, China signed an agreement with Myanmar on the hydropower development in upstream Irrawaddy River. In June, China Power Investment Group (CPI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in developing seven hydropower stations in upstream Irrawaddy River, whose total installed capacity reaches 21,000 MW. A major problem facing the Chinese power companies that are "going abroad" to develop hydropower in Myanmar is the power transmission. Myanmar is a smaller country with less population (relative to China). Most of the electricity generated cannot be consumed domestically. So Chinese companies have to consider power transmission back to China when developing Myanmar's hydropower resources. According to the agreement, the hydropower stations in the Irrawaddy River have to be built within 15 years, which implies an intensive hydropower development in the river basin. China needs to accommodate and coordinate the electricity generation from those dams and the dams in southwestern China. With the limit in market capacity, we have to study how China can accommodate and consume this electricity. The Bureau has already organized meetings to start the study. My company is also part of the task force, and hopefully will submit the research result by the end of 2010.
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AGREEMENT ON FOUR HYDRO PROJECTS SIGNED WITH DATANG (YUNNAN)

Electrical Division of the Ministry of Commerce of the PRC, 15/01/10. Edited.

http://www.sourcejuice.com/1295827/2010/01/15/Datang-Yunnan-Myanmar-Hydropower-Development-Company-signed-joint/
On January 7, 2010, Datang (Yunnan) and the Hydropower Planning Dept of the Union Myanmar signed an MoU on the joint development of four hydroelectric power projects. The agreement relates to the “Ywathit, Lampang River, Nandan Pa Lay absurd River and River 4 hydropower projects”. The signing ceremony was held in Myanmar's capital of Naypyidaw. Group Chief Economist Wu Jing, chairman of Datang Overseas Investment, and the Myanmar Minister of Electric Power No 1 Suketoshi [sic] were present at the ceremony.
The vice president of Datang Overseas Investment Co of Datang (Yunnan), Chairman Jiang Jian-ping, signed the MoU for Datang (Yunnan) and Wu Chi Chisu of the Planning Division signed for Myanmar
In his remarks at the ceremony, Minister Suketoshi spoke highly of the outstanding achievements that Datang (Yunnan) has made in the Taiping river project it has undertaken in Myanmar. He said the Hydropower Ministry firmly believed that Datang (Yunnan) would enjoy similar success in co-operating in the joint development of the four new hydropower projects.
For his part, Wu Jing expressed the hope that the two parties to the agreement, China Datang Corporation and Myanmar’s Electric Power [Ministry] No 1 would see it as an opportunity to continue to deepen their co-operation and that the four projects would serve to accelerate Myanmar's economic development and to enhance the traditional friendship between China and Myanmar.
Compiler’s note:

The edited news story above should be compared with the somewhat garbled news item circulated by the Domestic Electrical Service of the PRC’s Commerce Ministry as translated and circulated by SourceJuice, a website that relays items relating to commerce from ‘trusted sources’ in the PRC. The Commerce Ministry’s version of the event adds some details that are not in the news item about the MoU that appeared in NLM on 08/01/10. See Item 1) below. Three of the projects are named in a report made by Hydropower Minister Zaw Min at a SPIC meeting in March. See Item 2) below. The fourth project may be Tapein-2 which Datang (Yunnan) is slated to begin when it finishes with its Tapein-1 project near the Yunnan border in Kachin state. (tp-2)

Topographical map references

Topographic map references for the Nampun project on the Nam Pawn river and Namtabat project on the Nam Tamhpak [?] river: 1:250,000: Series U542, U.S. Army Map: NF 47-01: Pyinmana. http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/burma/txu-oclc-6924198-ne47-1.jpg Not enough information is available to provide more precise locations for either of these projects.

Topographic map references for the Ywathit project on the Thanlwin (Salween) river near Ywathit (19°10' N, 97°30' E), See: 1:250,000: Series S250, U.S. Armyu Map: NE 47-02: Chiang Dao. Grid square 3\4, 21\1.

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/indochina_and_thailand/txu-oclc-6535632-ne47-2.jpg The dam might be located downstream of the junction of the Nam Pai with the Thanlwin.
Additional references
Data summary Ywathit Nampun Namtamhpak
See above: ‘China’s infrastructure investment seen as cause of Kachin conflict’ (IRROL: 16/06/11)

‘Tapein-1 hydropower plant in Kachin state officially opened’ (NLM: 24/01/11)

‘China Datang and Shwetaung team up for six hydropower projects’ (NLM: 20/01/11)

‘Datang begins operations at Tapein river hydropower plant’ (Interfax: 03/09/10)

See below: ‘Taping river hydropower projects under discussion in China’ (Hubei Daily: 04/11/06)

'Tribe's home to be a valley of the dammed' (London Times: 22/03/06)

‘Lawpita power plants and associated dams’ (Appendix 1)

Compiler’s note: For purposes of clarity the items below are published in reverse chronological order with the oldest appearing first..
1) NLM, 08/01/10. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs08/NLM2010-01-09.pdf

EPM-1 Zaw Min received President Jiang Jianping of Datang (Yunnan) United Hydropower Developing Co Ltd (DUHD) of the PRC at the Ministry in Nay Pyi Taw on 07/01/10. Also present on the occasion were Deputy Minister U Myo Myint, directors-general, managing-directors and officials of departments and corporations under the Ministry, Chief Economist Wu Jing and personnel of DUHD. At the meeting, the two sides discussed matters related to hydropower projects in Myanmar. Afterwards, Director-general [U Kyee Soe] of the Hydropower Planning Dept and Chief Economist Wu Jing of Datang (Yunnan) signed an MoU with regard to hydropower projects [in Myanmar]. Also present at the signing ceremony were Minister for National Planning and Economic Development Soe Tha, Minister for Finance and Revenue Hla Tun, Attorney- General Aye Maung, deputy ministers, directors-general, managing directors of the departments under the ministry and President Jiang Jiangping of DUHD and officials concerned.

2) NLM, 07/03/10. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs08/NLM2010-03-07.pdf

Among seven projects to be implemented jointly with the investment of foreign companies are . . . the Ywathit hydropower project in Kayah State to generate 600 megawatts, the Namtabat hydropower project in Kayah State to generate 110 megawatts, the Nampun hydropower project in Kayah State to generate 130 megawatts.

3) The Ywathit dam project has been mentioned from time to time in documents posted on the Internet. A study carried out for MEPE in 1990 estimated a potential power output of 1500 MW. http://www.angelfire.com/rock3/shanyouth/body/status-of-salween-dam-plans.html

In 2004, a working committee appointed to study Thailand-Myanmar power co-operation recommended that a joint feasibility study for the development of hydro power plants in the Thanlwin and Tanintharyi basins consider a plan that would include an 800-MW dam and power station at Ywathit. An MoU on the study was signed in May 2005.

http://neroc.kku.ac.th/mekong/gms/documents/Modules/Module2/M2b/Power_Trade_Policy%20in%20GMS_3_Jul_07.pdf
Kantarawady Times, 11/08/10. Edited and condensed. http://www.bnionline.net/news/kantarawaddy/9144-junta-chinese-investors-forge-ahead-with-salween-dam.html

According to the Karenni Development Research Group (KDRG), there has been no transparency or consultation with the local Karenni people about the proposed Ywathit dam project. They say it will submerge large tracts of land along the Salween, the original homelands of thousands of Karenni refugees currently sheltered in Thailand. Meanwhile, the military regime and Chinese investors have sent hundreds of workers from central Burma to Kyauk Kyin near Ywathit to construct roads. Construction materials have begun to be transported to the dam site.

IRROL, 27/12/10. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20418

Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) troops ambushed a Burmese military convoy transporting technicians to a dam construction project on 24/12/10, according to Khu Oo Reh, the joint secretary of the KNPP. The KNPP troops attacked 20 government military trucks near the town of Pruhso, killing at least three persons including the foreign technicians, according to the KNPP. No information was provided about the number of people injured in the attack. Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, Khu Oo Reh said, “We attacked the convoy because it brought persons who can harm local people by building a dam. The convoy came from Loikaw and was headed to the dam project in the Ywathit area of Bawlakhe township. We are investigating the building of this dam, including what company is investing in the project. We received some information that the regime began conducting secret surveys four years ago. At the beginning, we thought that they were working on the Weigyi dam and didn't expect that they planned to build a new dam in Ywathit.”

NLM, 20/01/11. Excerpt. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs11/NLM2011-01-20.pdf

EPM-1 Zaw Min met with V-P Zou Jiahua of China Datang Corp and Pres Kou Bingen and party of China Datang Overseas Investment Co Ltd in Nay Pyi Taw for discussions on joint implementation of hydropower projects. Afterwards a ceremony to sign MoAs on the implementation of the Ywathit, Nampawn, Namtamhpak, Lemro, Lemro-II and Saingdin hydropower projects was signed between the HPD of EPM-1, China Datang Overseas Investment Co Ltd and Shwe Taung Hydropower Co Ltd [of Myanmar] took place in Yeywa Hall of the Ministry.

Burma Rivers Network, 09/03/11. Edited and condensed.

http://www.burmariversnetwork.org/images/stories/petition_press_release/March%2010%202011%282%29.pdf

The Karenni Development Research Group (KDRG) has launched a campaign publication exposing how three planned dams proceeding in secret will block waterways across the state, tightening the junta’s control and causing further widespread disruption to the war-torn population. A giant 600-MW dam on the Salween at Ywathit, nearly 60km from Mae Hong Son, will flood upstream to Shan State across large areas forcibly depopulated during ongoing offensives by Burmese army troops. Another 130-MW dam on the Pawn river in the heart of Karenni state will impact the Yintale people who now number just a thousand. A 110-MW dam on the Thabet River to the north of Loikaw is also planned. “We’re not allowed anywhere near the dam site” said one local villager from Ywathit. “Some Chinese with strange equipment travel there with soldiers, but we don’t know what’s going on.” The Ywathit is one of seven dams planned on the mainstream Salween in Burma by Chinese and Thai companies. All of the dams are located in conflict zones and have already exacerbated local resentment and instability. “How can investors think this is business as usual while armies are battling around them and people are fleeing for their lives?” said Thaw Reh of the KDRG. “They should wake up to the risks of these dams and immediately stop their operations.”

Burma Rivers Watch, Salween Watch & Karenni Development Research Group. Stop the Dam Offensive Against the Karenni. March 2011. 4pp.

http://www.salweenwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=279:stop-the-dam-offensive-against-the-karenni&catid=37:publications&Itemid=66

This report was issued to accompany the launch of a campaign calling for a moratorium on the construction by the Datang Corp of three hydropower dams in Karenni (Kayah) state: the Ywathit on the Salween, and one each on the Pawn and Thabet tributaries of the Salween. Six reasons are presented for opposing construction of the dams: 1) they will fuel further conflict in a region already impacted by violence and instability; 2) no environmental, social, or health impact assessments have been carried out; 3) the negative impact of the dams on the forest and fish resources in the Salween and Pawn river valleys; 4) construction of the dams will prevent vital nutrients in the sediment-rich Salween from reaching gardens and farms along the banks for hundreds of kilometres downstream; 5) the Pawn river dam located just to the north of the town of Bawlakeh is a threat to the livelihood of the Yintale people who plant millet and sesame in the river lowlands; 6) water surges and shortages for reasons related hydropower generation will negatively impact agriculture in the lower Salween. The report is richly illustrated with photos showing the traditional life style of the people of the Karenni. Maps pinpoint the location of the proposed dams.

FCCT (Foreign Correspondents Club Thailand), 24/05/11. Excerpt. Edited.

http://www.burmanet.org/news/2011/05/24/fcct-bangkok-via-mizzima-news-statement-of-the-special-rapporteur-on-the-situation-of-human-rights-in-myanmar-mr-tomas-ojea-quintana/

From a statement issued by Thomas Ojea Quintana, Special Rapporteur of the U.N.H.R.C. on the situation of human rights in Myanmar.

[While] in Mae Hong Son, [Thailand], I met with a number of Karenni groups [from] Kayah State, one of Myanmar’s smallest but most militarized states. . . . [Among the issues] raised was the problem of infrastructure projects in Kayah State. These projects have been leading to well-documented human rights abuses throughout Myanmar. Now there appear to be several more new projects in development. Myanmar requires strong rule of law in order to guarantee the rights of the people in context of these infrastructure projects. Communities need to be consulted in a meaningful way, which does not appear to have been done in most cases. Revenues from these projects should be recorded appropriately and used to benefit the people of Myanmar for the realization of their economic, social and cultural rights. The private companies that are involved in these projects also have a responsibility to not be complicit in human rights abuses.
Burma Rivers Network, 15/06/11. Excerpt. http://www.burmariversnetwork.org/actions/press-releases/23-press-releases/590-hydropower-dams-fuelling-conflict-in-burma.html

During the first week of June 2011, LIB 423 of the Burma Army was brought in to secure the Ywathit dam site in Karenni State where a series of dams are also planned by China’s Datang on the Salween River and its tributaries. The Karenni armed resistance is active near the site and in December 2010 attacked a convoy of trucks transporting equipment to the dam.

Ko Htwe, IRROL, 04/10/11. Edited. Excerpt. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=22189

Encouraged by President Thein Sein’s recent announcement of the suspension of the Myitsone dam in Kachin State, the Karenni Development Research Group (KDRG) is again urging the Burmese government to suspend construction of three large hydropower dams in Kayah State: the 600-MW Ywathit Dam on the Salween river; a 130-MW dam on the Pon river; and a 110-MW dam on the Thabet River, north of Loikaw. The three hydropower projects are in their initial phases, and are contracted to the China Datang Corp under an MoU which was signed with the Burmese regime in early 2010. However, recent floods have stoked fears among Karenni communities of the impacts of the three planned new projects after more than 500 houses and 500 acres of paddy fields were submerged in September due to the unprecedented release of water from the dam at Moebye which controls the water levels at the Lawpita generating plants near Loikaw. “We fear worse disasters if the new dams are built,” said Khu Thaw Reh, director of the KDRG.

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