Myanmar government will invest in building the necessary infrastructure needed to link Dawei in Tanintharyi Region to a power station in Mawlamyine in Mon State (Dr. Tun Naing, Deputy Minister at Ministry of Electricity and Energy)

Myanmar will invest in building the necessary infrastructure needed to link Dawei in Tanintharyi Region to a power station in Mawlamyine in Mon State, enabling Dawei to gain access to electricity, said Dr Tun Naing, deputy minister at Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MOEE).

This will involve a 60-mile, 66 kilovolt power transmission line linking Dawei to Mawlamyine through Ye township in southern Mon State, as well as an accompanying KV5 sub-station, which will be constructed in Ye. 

The station in Ye will draw power from the main Mawlamyine power station and transmit power to a third station in Dawei, which is the site for the proposed controversial Special Economic Zone (SEZ). 

The government will allocate funds from the upcoming 2018-19 Budget towards the project.

The project, which will take two years to complete, will begin in 2019, said Dr Tun Naing, who is also chair of the Dawei SEZ Management Committee. 

“The total funding amount for this project is K1.27 billion and the government has negotiated with the Asian Development Bank [ADB] for it to help provide at least $400 million for the power transmission line to ensure reliable electricity is provided,” said Dr Tun Naing.

The government is negotiating with the ADB because loans provided by the Export-Import Bank of China come with interest rates of up to 2 percent. 

“It is more suitable to use a loan from the Asian Development Bank as there are no strings attached,” Dr Tun Naing went on.

In parliament last Friday, MP U Myo Win also raised questions about Ye’s involvement in the project. He asked if residents of Ye could be charged lower prices for electricity as Ye is the only township in Mon State which does not buy subsidised electricity from the national grid. 

In Ye, locals buy electricity from the private sector at K450-K550 per unit, which is higher than government-subsidised rates.

The Mon State government is in the process of negotiating with Myat Thura Company, B Talk Company and South East General Electricity and Energy Co to reduce the rate to K200-K300 per unit.

(The Myanmar Times: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/government-link-dawei-mawlamyine-station.html )

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