Irrawaddy/N'Mai/Mali Dams

LETTING THE RIVERS RUN FREE

Dam Specifications | Companies Involved | Finance | Project Status | Impacts

Burma’s military government signed an agreement with China Power Investment Corporation in May 2007 for the implementation of seven large dams along the Irrawaddy, Mali, and N’Mai Rivers in Kachin State. The largest of the seven, the Myitsone Dam, is located at the confluence of the Mali and N’Mai Rivers at the creation of the Irrawaddy. The dam would destroy the confluence, one of the most significant cultural heritage sites for the Kachin people and an important landmark for all of Burma.

Dam Specifications
Irrawaddy Mytisone
Height: 152 meters
Installed capacity: 3,600 MW
Annual production: 16,634 Gwh
Chibwe
Height: unknown
Installed capacity: 2,000 MW
Annual production: unknown
Pashe
Height: unknown
Installed capacity: 1,600 MW
Annual production: unknown
Lakin
Height: unknown
Installed capacity: 1,400 MW
Annual production: unknown
Phizaw
Height: unknown
Installed capacity: 1,500 MW
Annual production: unknown
Khaunglanphu
Height: unknown
Installed capacity: 1,700 MW
Annual production: unknown
Laiza
Height: unknown
Installed capacity: 1,560 MW
Annual production: unknown

Companies Involved
While China Power Investment Corporation is the Project Manager of the “Confluence Region Hydropower Projects,” several companies have been or are currently involved in the preparation, construction and financing of the 3,600 MW Irrawaddy Myitsone Dam. Asia World Company, run by Burmese drug-lord Lo Hsing Han, has a key player in facilitating the project.

Burmese
Asia World Company
Suntac Technologies
State-run Myanmar Electrical Power Enterprise
Chinese
China Power Investment Corporation (CPI)
China Southern Power Grid Co. (CSG)
Yunnan Machinery Equipment Import & Export Company Limited (YMEC)
Changjiang Institute of Surveying, Planning, Design and Research (CISPDR)
Japanese
Kansai Electric Power Company, Incorporated (KEPCO)

Finance
Engineers generally estimate that it costs US$1 million per 1MW of installed capacity to build a hydropower dam. Depending on the conditions of the dam sites and cost overruns, the investment into the Irrawaddy Myitsone Dam could reach US$3.6billion.

Using the projected annual production and a regional example of electricity sales, the revenue generated by the Irrawaddy Myitsone Dam could range between US$558-597 million per year (please see the report Damming the Irrawaddy for a full explanation of figures).

Electricity – where will it go?
It appears that electricity from the dams will be transmitted to China.

Project Status - Last updated September 2008
A project-launching ceremony of the 3,600 MW Myitsone Dam was conducted in May 2007. Survey work has since been completed and discussions about commencement of construction are ongoing.

A letter objecting to the dams written by twelve prominent Kachin leaders and sent to Senior General Than Shwe in May 2007 has gone unanswered and local residents have yet to be informed or consulted about the dam plans.

Chinese surveyors and workers from Asia World Company have been taking core samples at the Chibwe site for the past three months. Ten buildings for staff and labourers have been built in Mandung village, ten miles from the town of Chibwe. Two helipads have also been built in the village to facilitate visits from Naypyidaw.

To date, no impact assessment of any of the dam projects has been released.

Impacts
The reservoir of the Irrawaddy Myitsone dam will flood an area larger than Singapore in one of the world’s hottest “hotspots” of biodiversity. An estimated 10,000 people will be displaced, losing their livelihoods and natural resource base. Women will be particularly at risk during dam construction and resettlement. Reservoir discharge of accumulated mercury from gold mining operations in the area and other downstream impacts stand to threaten the already endangered Irrawaddy Dolphin. The dam site is located on an active fault line; any dam break would destroy the capital of Kachin State 40 kilometers downstream.

As construction progresses, more Burma Army soldiers are expected to move in to secure the dam site, which villagers fear will lead to an increase in abuses. A Burma Army battalion moved into the Myitsone area in late 2007, taking over a village library, extorting money from villagers and merchandise from shops, and stealing vegetables and livestock from local farms. Two dozen Burma Army soldiers set up two camps near the Chibwe dam site in January 2008 when Chinese engineers came to inspect the river.

For more information about the Myitsone, Mali Hka, or N’Mai Hka Dams, please see Damming the Irrawaddy
For update news from the area please visit www.kachinnews.com