Manaung oxygen plant to be powered by generator due to inadequate electricity supply

By DMG 07 Aug 2021

DMG Newsroom
7 August 2021, Manaung 

Organisers of efforts to set up a self-help oxygen plant in Manaung town, Arakan State, said they have arranged to run the facility by generator as the electricity supply is not sufficient to operate it using the power grid. 

The government supplies solar power to Manaung Township, and it is not sufficient to operate the oxygen plant. 

Construction of the facility would begin on August 8 and it would take about two months to complete, said U Kyaw Mya, chairperson of the committee for building the oxygen plant. 

It will cost more than K80 million in total to build the facility, including construction costs and the purchase of a generator, U Kyaw Mya said. 

“We have planned to operate the plant for the long term,” he said. 

The island township of Manaung relies on waterways for transportation to and from the mainland, giving rise to concerns about possible oxygen shortages during inclement weather. 

There are 11 Covid-19 patients at Manaung Township General Hospital, and 10 of them have been provided supplemental oxygen. 

U Kyaw Moe Naing, chair of the Saydanar Shin Social Welfare Association (Free Funeral Service) who is participating in Covid-19 prevention activities in Manaung Township, posted on his social network page: “[There’s] concern about oxygen shortage as only one oxygen cylinder is left in Manaung hospital, and hopes are for the arrival of oxygen supplies sent from Kyaukphyu.” 

During the pandemic’s ongoing third wave, a total of 45 Covid-19 cases were reported in Manaung Township as of August 7, with 10 fatalities. 

Other townships in Arakan State are also seeking to build self-help oxygen plants amid a surge in coronavirus infections statewide. Facilities in Mrauk-U and Thandwe townships began producing oxygen last month, but have seen disruptions to their operations, including electricity supply issues at the Mrauk-U plant.  

The plant to be built in Manaung town will have a production capacity of 40 40-litre cylinders per day, according to organisers.