Two more oxygen plants in Arakan State expected to begin production soon

By DMG 14 Sep 2021

DMG Newsroom
14 September 2021, Sittwe 

With oxygen plants being built with the assistance of donors in several Arakan State townships, two of the facilities will begin operating soon. 

An oxygen machine for one of the facilities being built on a self-reliant basis arrived in Minbya Township on September 11, and was subsequently installed and tested. 

“We tested an oxygen machine and refilled two oxygen cylinders yesterday. Due to a few machine malfunctions, we are working again today. If all goes well, it will start producing oxygen tomorrow,” said U Thein Tun, secretary of the Kyein Yeik Garunar, a community-based charity group helping to supply oxygen in Minbya. 

The oxygen plant in Minbya will eventually be able to refill more than 60 40-litre oxygen cylinders a day, he said. 

It will provide assistance if there is a need for oxygen in Minbya and other Arakan State townships. 

“Before the construction of the oxygen plant, we bought oxygen from Mandalay and donated it to Minbya Hospital. Now that oxygen is being produced in Minbya, there are plans to donate if other townships need help,” U Thein Tun said. 

Another oxygen machine arrived in Rathedaung on September 10 and testing began two days later. Oxygen production has begun at that plant, but construction of the plant has not yet been completed. 

“The oxygen machine was tested and found to be very suitable. Oxygen is ready for Rathedaung Hospital,” Dr. Tin Myint Oo, medical superintendent of Rathedaung Hospital, told DMG. “If other hospitals want to refill oxygen here, they can do so with a request letter from the relevant hospital official.” 

If the oxygen plant in Rathedaung Township runs continuously, it will be able to daily produce 75 oxygen cylinders with a capacity of 40 litres each. 

Efforts have been made to build oxygen plants in townships across Arakan State, in part by collecting donations, to prevent Covid-19 patients from dying due to widespread oxygen shortages during the third wave of the pandemic. 

An oxygen plant in Mrauk-U was the first self-reliant operation of its kind to produce oxygen, with plants being built in other Arakan State townships hoping to emulate or approximate that model. 

As of September 13, a total of 4,595 cases and 428 deaths were reported in Arakan State during the pandemic’s ongoing third wave, according to data compiled by the Arakan State military council.