It’s unprecedented: the largest industrial estate and deep sea port complex conceived in Southeast Asia. It’s controversial: trampling pristine shorelines; felling valuable forests and orchards; paving highways through remote mountain passes and uprooting ethnic minorities all along the way.
Category: Myanmar
Dawei LNG for Shell
The firm has signed a Joint Development Agreement with Thai companies Italian-Thai Development and LNG Plus International in Bangkok on August 19 to cooperate on developing the terminal. It will consist primarily of an LNG receiving and re-gasification terminal at Dawei special economic zone.
Myanmar incurs wrath of civic groups as hydropower solutions remain its main priority
Khine Kyaw MYANMAR’S Electric Power Ministry will go ahead with hydropower projects, the Minister for Electric Power, Industry, Science and Technology said last week amid reports of local resistance. Nyan Tun U told the Confexhub’s Myanmar Green Energy Summit that the government would fulfil its target to achieve universal electricity access by 2030. At present, […]
Shan Community Handover 23,717 Signatures Opposing Dams on the Salween River to Australian Consultants
Karen News Shan community representatives presented 23,717 signatures opposing the construction of plans to dams the Salween River to the Australian company doing the environmental and social impact assessments (EIA/SIA) for the Mong Ton dam in southern Shan State. The Shan community representatives delivered their petition to the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation (SMEC) offices in […]
Myanmar seeks over $100m for Asean connectivity project
Myanmar’s Construction Ministry is seeking the parliamentary approval for a US$120 million loan to upgrade the Kawkareik-Mawlamyine-Thaton Road, a part of the Greater Mekong East-West Economic Corridor. It plans to borrow US$100 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and $20 million from the bank’s Asean Infrastructure Fund.
Over 23,000 Shan State Residents Sign Petition Against Salween Dams
Sai Aw Shan community representatives who organised a petition opposing the construction of the Mong Ton (Tasang) Dam on the Salween (Thanlwin) River have collected the signatures of 23,717 Shan State citizens. The petition was delivered to the Yangon office of the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation (SMEC), the Australian consulting firm responsible for conducting environmental […]
PHOTO ESSAY: The Angry River: A Journey Along Burma’s Pristine Salween
In April 2015, photographer Patrick Brown returned to the lower part of the Salween or Thanlwin River. One of Asia’s great rivers, the Salween presents a placid face as it passes through Hpa-an, the capital of Kayin (Karen) State, close to the end of its 1,750-mile journey from the Tibetan Plateau to the Andaman Sea at Mon State.
Bomb Destroys Mining Company Truck
A bomb blew up a truck loaded with silicon mineral stone in Aung Myittar Ward, Namhkam Township, Northern Shan State at 7.20pm on 10 March according to Sai Ye, a local resident.
He said: “When the bomb exploded under the engine at the front of the truck some parts of the engine were destroyed but no one was injured in the accident. The truck driver is Sai Pe from Aung Myittar Ward and the explosion happened in front of his home. The explosion was very big, it caused the ground to shake. The whole town was silent after the explosion and there was almost no one on the street.”
Karen Groups Concerned Proposed Dams on Salween River Could Fuel Conflict and Increase Militarization
The Karen River Watch, a coalition of Karen environmental community based groups raise concerns over the proposed hydropower dam projects on the Salween River and repeated their call for a halt to all development projects. Together with local villagers, KRW held a protest near Hat Gyi Dam, one of the proposed dam sites in Hlaingbwe Township, Karen State on March 14 to mark International Day of Action for Rivers and Against Dams.
Coal-fired power plants as power solution
While Myanmar has planned to increase the input of coal-fired power plants in a bid to meet the surging demand, the civil society has raised environmental concerns over the implementation of such plants, according to the 3rd Myanmar Power Summit, a business seminar organised by the Centre for Management Technology.