Myanmar’s Government has revived a Chinese-backed hydropower project that was put on hold in 2011 by the previous government. The Information Ministry has published a notice announcing a new leadership team for the 6 GW Myitsone hydropower project. The new team will notably work with the Yunnan International Power Investment Company, a subsidiary of China’s State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC). The US$3.6bn project would be located in the northern state of Kachin, along Myanmar’s Irrawaddy River.
Before being suspended, the project was expected to export about 90% of the electricity it produced to China, which considered the dam an important part of a national strategy to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and meet its targets to cut emissions. China lobbied for its construction to resume, even after the suspension. The project was put on hold following ecological and population displacement concerns, as well as questions about the arrangement made with China to export most of the power produced there.
As of end 2022, hydropower represented nearly 45% of Myanmar’s installed capacity with over 3.2 GW and 52% of its power generation with over 18 TWh.
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