"In China, Myanmar Junta Minister Visits Firm Planning Controversial Irrawaddy River Dam" 29 July 2024

Junta Foreign Minister Than Swe visited State Power Investment Corporation Yunnan International Power Investment Co. Ltd. (SPICYN), the developer of the controversial Myitsone Dam hydropower project in Kachin State, during his visit to Yunnan Province last week...SPICYN chairman Wu Zhiqun presented the corporation’s ongoing projects as part of the development of the electric power sector in Myanmar...

The meeting followed the junta’s formation of a body to evaluate hydropower projects on the Irrawaddy River in April...The body was formed amid growing concerns that the regime was planning to revive the China-backed power project at the source of the Irrawaddy River in northern Myanmar...

Located 32 km from Myitkyina, the US$7.2-billion project with a proposed capacity of 20,000 megawatts was initiated in 2009 under the previous military regime led by Than Shwe.

The project has been stalled since a government suspension order in September 2011 under then-President Thein Sein’s administration following widespread public protests against the dam.

The protests were fueled by a variety of fears and misgivings: that the majority of the electrical power generated would go to China; that the dam’s location near a seismic fault line posed a flood risk in the event of an earthquake; that the dam would threaten the flow of the Irrawaddy River and biodiversity and livelihoods downstream; and concerns over the general lack of transparency and public consultations undertaken before the project was awarded to China...