Energy-starved Myanmar seeks to boost supply
YA N G O N : Opposition to a planned US$3 billion (RM12.9 billion) coal-fired power plant in eastern Myanmar is highlighting the challenges facing Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in crafting a coherent energy policy in one of Asia’s poorest and most electricity-starved countries.
Myanmar is finding investors tough, with only a third of the country’s 60 million people connected to the grid and major cities experiencing blackouts. The country is now looking at options, from coal to deep-sea gas, to boost its power supply.
Coal would be one of the quickest ways to ramp up power generation but, as protests against the proposed 1,280 megawatts (MW) project in the eastern Kayin state show, the option is unpopular in Myanmar.
More than 100 activist groups across the country have signed a joint statement calling for the project to be cancelled and urging the government to look at renewable energy instead.
“They are worried about their land and water, which would be affected by the coal-fired plant,” said Kayin-based activist Nan Myint Aung, referring to residents in the area who mostly depended on agriculture.
Attracting investment is crucial for Suu Kyi, who has made job creation one of her top priorities. Foreign direct investments have fallen 30 per cent from the previous year to US$6.6 billion in 2016/17 due to sluggish progress on retooling the economy after decades of military rule.
Myanmar is aiming for a more than fourfold increase in its elec- tricity generation of more than 23,500MW by 2030 to meet rising demand, a target experts said would be difficult to achieve — particularly, they said, if policy remained confused.
The Kayin state project, which is awaiting approval from the authorities, is among the 11 planned coal-fired plants in Myanmar and, by itself, would increase the country’s current electricity production by 25 per cent, official data shows.
But it is uncertain how many of those projects will go ahead. The former quasi-civilian government led by president Thein Sein had to stall more than 10 coal projects across the country due to opposition on environmental grounds.
Some Western experts advising the government also oppose the solution, arguing that importing coal, not abundant in Myanmar, would mean an outflow of dollars from a country with tiny reserves of hard currency. Reuters