Upper and Lower Paunglaung Dams

LETTING THE RIVERS RUN FREE

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

In March 2005, Burma’s Ministry of Electric Power (MEPE), along with financial and construction support from Chinese companies, completed the Lower Paunglaung Dam on the Paunglaung River, which flows through Shan State before joining the Sittaung River in Mandalay Division. MEPE signed an MOU for the implementation of the Upper Paunglaung Dam on September 1, 2005.

Dam Specifications
Lower Paunglaung
Height: 131 meters
Installed capacity: 280 MW
Annual production: unknown

Upper Paunglaung
Height: 99 meters
Installed capacity: 140 MW
Annual production: 434 Gwh

Companies Involved
The Lower Paunglaung Dam was jointly built by MEPE and the Yunnan Machinery Equipment Import & Export Company Limited (YMEC). The Export-Import Bank of China (China Exim Bank) provided an over 120 million USD loan for the project. Sinohydro also provided construction materials and support.

The Upper Paunglaung Dam will be a joint undertaking between MEPE and YMEC. A German company is also involved in dam construction.

Chinese
Yunnan Machinery Equipment Import & Export Company Limited (YMEC)
Export-Import Bank of China (China Exim Bank)
Sinohydro Corporation
German
FOSCE Consulting Engineers

Finance
Investment in the Lower Paunglaung Dam amounted to nearly 300 million USD. China Exim Bank provided a loan of over 120 million USD, while YMEC provided machinery and equipment under a 160 million USD contract.

YMEC has agreed to provide machinery and equipment for the Upper Paunglaung Dam under an 80 million USD contract.

Electricity – where will it go?
Most of the electricity from the Lower Paunglaung Dam is currently being sent to Burma’s new capital, Naypyidaw. Electricity from the Upper Paunglaung Dam is also expected to go to Naypyidaw. Local residents have not received electricity from the Lower Paunglaung Dam, and do not expect to receive electricity from the Upper Paunglaung Dam once it is completed.

Project Status - Last updated September 2008
The Lower Paunglaung Dam was completed in 2005, and is currently in operation. Preparation for construction of the Upper Paunglaung Dam began in 2004, and it is scheduled for completion in December 2009.

Impacts
Burma Army battalions have been sent to the Upper Paunglaung Dam site, which has resulted in increased use of forced labor. In 2004, a new military camp was set up 4 miles east of the Upper Paunglaung site. Villagers were forced to clear land for the camp, and some died of malaria while working. Beginning in 2006, villagers were forced to build stretches of a new road to the Upper Paunglaung Dam site.

Twelve villages in the Paunglaung Valley, comprising over 3,500 people, will be flooded by the Upper Paunglaung Dam. In early 2007, villagers were informed that they would be forcibly relocated from the floodplain. The villagers were never consulted about the dam, nor were they offered compensation. Over 5,300 acres of fertile farmland will be flooded by the dam. Fish species in the Paunglaung River have declined since the completion of the Lower Paunglaung Dam. The Upper Paunglaung Dam is expected to further harm fish species. The impacts of the dam will destroy the livelihoods of the villagers, who are subsistence farmers and fisherman.

For more information please see Drowning the Green Ghosts of Kayanland