Switzerland company to advise on hydropower projects in Myanmar

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Oct 1, 2008
Copyright: XINHUA NEWS AGENCY
Source: Comtex Business


YANGON, Oct 31, 2008 (Xinhua via COMTEX News Network) -- A Switzerland company will provide consulting services for implementation of hydropower projects in Myanmar, the state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported Friday.

Under the agreement, signed by the Hydropower Implementation Department (HID) under the Myanmar Ministery of Electric Power-1 and the Colenco Power Engineering Limited of Switzerland in the new capital of Nay Pyi Taw on Wednesday, the Switzerland company will supply consulting services for in-house engineering services for the implementation of hydropower projects in Myanmar, the paper said.

Meanwhile, under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed earlier this month in Nay Pyi Taw between the Myanmar Ministry of Electric Power-1, the Italian-Thai Development Public Co. Ltd based in Thailand and the Windfall Energy Services Ltd of British Virgin Island based in Singapore, the two foreign companies will launch the hydropower project of 600 megawatts (mw) in Myanmar's southern Tanintharyi division.

The MoU came after India's National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd took up two similar projects in Myanmar last month, namely the Htamanthi's of 1,200 megawatts' (mw) generating capacity and the Shwesayay's of 600 mw under similar MoU.

In recent years, companies from Thailand, China, South Korea, Bangladesh and India were engaged in Myanmar's hydropower projects.



Myanmar has signed five contracts respectively with some Chinese companies since 2004 on the implementation of the country' s 790-mw Yeywa hydropower project on the Myitnge River which can generate 3.55 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually upon completion.

Other China-involved hydropower projects went to Upper Paunglaung by the Yunnan Machinery and Equipment Import and Export Co Ltd (YMEC) and the Upper Thanlwin by the Farsighted Investment Group Co Ltd and Gold Water Resources Ltd.

Moreover, the China Power Investment Corporation (CPI) was also reportedly to build seven hydropower projects for Myanmar on the confluence of Ayeyawaddy river and Maykha and Malikha rivers in Kachin state with a combined capacity of 13,360 mw.

In the latest development, Myanmar and Bangladesh are enhancing cooperation in seeking to build hydropower plants in Myanmar for export of electricity to Bangladesh. The exploration has identified potential sites for such move in some areas in two states in western and northwestern parts of the country.

According to the government's National Investment Commission, the electric power sector dominated foreign investment in Myanmar with 6.311 billion U.S. dollars as of the end of 2007.

Statistics also show that Myanmar had a total of over 1,690 mw of installed generating capacity of electric power as of April 2008 and the power generated stood 6.603 billion kwh in 2007-08, up from 6.172 billion kwh in 2006-07.



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