Regime plans reservoir near Kyaukphyu island village

By Admin 11 Oct 2023

DMG Newsroom
11 October 2023, Kyaukphyu

The Irrigation and Water Utilization Department, which is part of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, is planning to build a reservoir near Kyauktan Village on Maday Island in Kyaukphyu Township, Arakan State, locals said.

The reservoir will be built at a location between Mt. Shaukpinshein and Mt. Kyinthan, about two furlongs from Kyauktan Village.

Officials from the Kyaukphyu Township Settlement and Land Records Department visited the site in January, April and on October 10 to survey the land area slated for the construction of the reservoir, according to local residents.

“We have been informed that the Irrigation and Water Utilization Department will reportedly build a reservoir for consumption by locals. Employees from the Settlement and Land Records Department made field trips to conduct a feasibility study for construction of the reservoir,” said U Tha Zan Aung, the administrator of Maday Island Village-tract.

China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has built a port and oil storage tanks on Maday Island, where cargo ships can dock, and natural gas and oil are exported to China through pipelines that begin in Kyaukphyu Township.

Some farmlands on Maday Island were confiscated due to the construction of a crude oil storage facility and a port — part of what is known as the Shwe gas project — and local fishermen also lost some fishing grounds.

The junta has said the reservoir will be for the use of local residents, but will also be built to meet the needs of the Chinese projects on Maday Island, so local residents want a transparent explanation.

“CNPC officials said that there were many benefits for the local people during the previous projects on the island,” said U Maung Hla Khin, a local man from Kyauktan Village. “The junta officials say this reservoir will be built for the locals. But they have not yet openly disclosed the reservoir project to the locals.”

During construction of the Chinese pipeline project, farmlands and orchards owned by locals were confiscated. Locals worry that there will be further confiscation of land where the reservoir will be built.

“If the farmlands in the project area are confiscated, the owners must be compensated,” said Daw Nwe Nwe Myint, a local woman from Kyauktan Village. “The Land Records Department said that if the farmland owners do not have ownership, they will only be compensated for the value of the crops planted. All of the farmlands have been cultivated by our ancestors, so the locals are worried that their farmlands will be confiscated excessively.”

When DMG contacted U Thet Lin Tun, an officer from the township Irrigation and Water Utilization Department, to seek comment on construction of the reservoir, he said that he would reply to the question later because he was on a trip.

U Ba Shein, a former Arakan State lawmaker for Kyaukphyu Township, said that if the reservoir project is to be beneficial over the long term, there should be coordination with the local residents.

“A reservoir will reportedly be built on Maday Island, but I don’t know when the project will begin. If the project were to be implemented, it would be beneficial for the local people and there should be careful negotiations so that the local people are not harmed,” the ex-legislator added.

About 3,000 people live in five villages on Maday Island, where local residents mainly engage in farming and fishing.