Burmese to get a mere percent of dam energy

Almost all of the electricity to be generated by hydropower dams now under construction in Burma will be sold to China and Thailand.

Only one percent will be allocated to domestic consumers.


During a recent seminar on the Thai-Burmese border, groups researching the impact of the dams on rivers in Burma and neighboring countries noted that Chinese companies are involved in all but one of 21 major dam
projects currently underway in Burma.

"Since China is the main investor in the dam projects, it will receive most of the electricity. China will get 48 percent, while 38 percent will go to Thailand and 3 percent to India. Only one percent will be available for domestic consumption," said Sai Sai, the coordinator of Burma Rivers Network, one of the groups that took part in the seminar.

The remaining 10 percent, he added, will be used by the Burmese military and on large-scale development projects such as the construction of a natural gas pipeline from western Burma's Arakan State to China.

According to BRN, the 21 dams being built in Kachin, Shan, and Karenni states and Mandalay and Sagaing divisions will produce a total of 35,640 megawatts of electricity.

Following visits to Burma by Chinese officials late last year, Chinese investment in the Tasang dam, located on the Salween River in Shan State, is set to increase from US $6 billion to $10 billion, said Sai
Sai, who added that the dam will be the largest in the state when it is
completed.