New power plant opens in Kyaukphyu

By DMG 16 Oct 2022

DMG Newsroom
16 October 2022, Kyaukphyu

A Chinese-backed gas-fired power plant in Kyaukphyu Township, Arakan State, began operations on October 11, and is currently undergoing a trial run.

“It has opened, but it is not operating at full capacity. It is still on a test-run, and we need around one month to prepare until the plant can run at its full capacity,” the chief of the Kyaukphyu District electricity office, U Thein Soe, told DMG.

The US$180 million, 135-megawatt power plant in the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) was christened by Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai and the regime’s deputy minister for electric power, Dr. Aung Zeya.

The power plant will use 22 million cubic feet of gas per day from the Shwe natural gas project to produce 1 billion kWh per year, according to the deputy electricity minister.

The plant will supply residential, industrial and commercial areas in Arakan State, and is a key power plant for the socioeconomic development of local people in the state, added the deputy minister.

There are 374 villages in Kyaukphyu Township, and some 100 villages still do not have access to grid electricity. A resident of Kyaukphyu Township who asked for anonymity called on the regime to supply those villages with electricity from the new power plant.

“The power plant has the capacity to supply the entire township. I urge the [military] government to enable people in Arakan State to have access to electricity produced in their state,” he said.

The power plant was developed by Kyauk Phyu Electric Power Co. Ltd., a joint venture between Chinese state-owned firm Power China Resources and Myanmar’s Supreme Group. The Myanmar Investment Commission granted permission for the project in January 2020, and the plant is expected to be fully operational by January of next year, according to the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar.