Overseas funds sought to set up hydro-power plant in Myanmar
Saturday, 18 August 2007
Sarwar Zahan
The government is seeking funds from overseas donors to conduct a feasibility study and set up a hydro-power plant in Myanmar for importing the electricity through a cross-border transmission line, Power Division sources said.
A team is likely to visit Myanmar soon to open up bilateral talks with the Myanmar government on the potentiality of hydro-electricity in that country, they said.
Sources said the Power Division has requested the Economic Relations Division (ERD) to look for funds for the large investment required to implement the power generation project in Myanmar.
The ERD might send letters to some multilateral and bilateral donors including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Japan, asking for financial support to conduct feasibility studies as well as install the power plant in Myanmar, Finance Ministry sources said.
The Ministry of Electric Power in Myanmar has identified about 200 potential sites for generating 38,000 megawatts of electricity from some of its rivers.
The Power Development Board earlier prepared an assessment report on the potential of hydroelectricity in Myanmar and it recommended conducting a detailed study by an expert team from Dhaka to asses the potential of hydro-electricity in Myanmar, PDB sources said.
It was noted that in Michaung and Lemro areas of Arakan state in Myanmar, there was potential for 800 MW hydropower generation. The import of electricity to the country from those areas is viable as they are situated close to Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh requires around 5,000 MW of power, but its production capacity staggers between 3,000 MW and 3,300 MW, depending on the condition of its decades-old power plants.
Power ministry sources said a feasibility study will be conducted on the Kaladan and Lemro rivers, the Sai Tin Creek, and Dalet Creek, which are all in Arakan state, if an agreement could be reached with Myanmar in this connection to explore more sources of importable electricity in neighbouring countries.
The government is seeking funds from overseas donors to conduct a feasibility study and set up a hydro-power plant in Myanmar for importing the electricity through a cross-border transmission line, Power Division sources said.
A team is likely to visit Myanmar soon to open up bilateral talks with the Myanmar government on the potentiality of hydro-electricity in that country, they said.
Sources said the Power Division has requested the Economic Relations Division (ERD) to look for funds for the large investment required to implement the power generation project in Myanmar.
The ERD might send letters to some multilateral and bilateral donors including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Japan, asking for financial support to conduct feasibility studies as well as install the power plant in Myanmar, Finance Ministry sources said.
The Ministry of Electric Power in Myanmar has identified about 200 potential sites for generating 38,000 megawatts of electricity from some of its rivers.
The Power Development Board earlier prepared an assessment report on the potential of hydroelectricity in Myanmar and it recommended conducting a detailed study by an expert team from Dhaka to asses the potential of hydro-electricity in Myanmar, PDB sources said.
It was noted that in Michaung and Lemro areas of Arakan state in Myanmar, there was potential for 800 MW hydropower generation. The import of electricity to the country from those areas is viable as they are situated close to Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh requires around 5,000 MW of power, but its production capacity staggers between 3,000 MW and 3,300 MW, depending on the condition of its decades-old power plants.
Power ministry sources said a feasibility study will be conducted on the Kaladan and Lemro rivers, the Sai Tin Creek, and Dalet Creek, which are all in Arakan state, if an agreement could be reached with Myanmar in this connection to explore more sources of importable electricity in neighbouring countries.