National Infrastructure Holdings-led consortium will construct a 143MW gas power plant in Kyaukse Township, Mandalay region, which is scheduled to be ready by next February

The National Infrastructure Holding-led consortium (NIHC), comprising of three firms, will construct a 145MW gas power plant in Kyaukse township, Mandalay Region, according to consortium.

The tender was launched by the Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MOEE) in March 2018 and NIHC consortium was awarded the tender last month, Director Daw Yi Yi Htwe from MCM Co, a member of that consortium, told The Myanmar Times. Within the consortium, NIHC, a Yangon-headquartered infrastructure conglomerate, owns the largest number of the shares, followed Myanmar Chemical & Machinery and then a Chinese firm, one MCM official said.

The 145MW gas power plant will involve US$100-120 million investment over a span of five years, the official added.

Negotiations are still underway for the Power Purchase Agreement with the MOEE and a proposal will then be submitted to the Myanmar Investment Commission, he said. MOEE will supply 30 million cubic feet of gas per day to the plant which consists of eight 18MW “Wartsila machines” made in Finland for electricity generation, Daw Yi Yi Htwe said. Wärtsilä is a Finnish firm which manufactures and provides power sources and other equipment in the energy sector.

According to tender agreement with MOEE, the project proponent has 10 months maximum for construction on the land allocated by the ministry. Construction started in May and is scheduled to complete by February 2019.

Once the construction is completed, the plant will start operation in February in order to supply electricity during the summer, Daw Yi Yi Htwe continued. The power generated will be added to the national grid.

In early May, the MOEE has selected the winners of a tender for rental power projects in Mandalay Region. U Han Zaw, chief engineer at the Electric Power Generation Enterprise, told local media that Hong Kong-based VPower has been selected to operate a plant at Myingyan, while NIHC will run a plant at Kyaukse. Both will be fuelled by natural gas from the Shwe field and are expected to be ready by next summer.

(The Myanmar Times: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/gas-power-plant-mandalay-be-ready-next-february.html )

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