Chinese firm’s Kyaukphyu power plant failing on corporate social responsibility: residents

By Admin 06 Oct 2023

DMG Newsroom
6 October 2023, Kyaukphyu

The Kyaukphyu combined cycle power station, an investment of Power Construction Corporation of China (POWERCHINA), has failed to fulfill the promises it had made to residents of Ohntaw village in Kyaukphyu, where the power plant is located.

Two tributaries, two roads and some farmlands were seized to make way for the power plant. POWERCHINA agreed to build an inter-village road for residents.၏

“They agreed to build a good road linking us with Gone Chun village to compensate for the loss of the village. But they have yet to improve the road,” said villager Ko Tun Soe of Ohntaw village.

CHINAPOWER officials made the promise at the Kyaukphyu Township General Administration Department in the presence of Kyaukphyu town residents and former lawmakers U Ba Shein and U Poe San.

The company then built an over one mile long and 12-ft-wide road linking Ohntaw with Gone Chun, but the road was just an earthen road and without gutters, and was damaged within months.

Residents asked the township administrator in October of last year to intervene and push the company to repair the road, but the township administrator told them to directly communicate with the company.

U Maung Chan, the administrator of Ohntaw village, said: “We have repeatedly requested that they build a gravel road first, even if they can’t build a concrete road right away. The company always replies that it will repair, but it hasn’t yet.”

DMG was unable to obtain comment from POWERCHINA officials.

The power plant has not started producing electricity, but its construction is now complete and the company must fulfill its promises, residents say.

Former lawmaker U Poe San of Kyaukphyu Township said: “They must repair it after they have promised to do so. The road has been in bad shape. The company is responsible for repairing the road.”

The power plant was approved by the Myanmar Investment Commission in 2020, and was scheduled to begin operations this year.

Located in the Kyaukpyu Special Economic Zone, “The installed capacity of the project is 135 MW,” according to POWERCHINA. 

“After completion, the annual on grid power will be about 1 billion kWh, which can provide stable and reliable power for Myanmar’s main power grid,” the company said in a post to its website about a year ago.

The plant is reportedly still not fully operational due to technical problems.