| Myitsone Dam | |
|---|---|
 Artist's conception, Myitsone Dam | |
  Location of Myitsone Dam in Myanmar | |
| Official name | မြစ်ဆုံ တာတမံ |
| Location | Kachin, Burma |
| Coordinates | 25°41′23″N 97°31′4″E / 25.68972°N 97.51778°E |
| Construction began | 2009 |
| Opening date | Unknown |
| Construction cost | US$3.6 billion |
| Owner(s) | The Ministry of Electric Power No.1 of Myanmar, China Power Investment Corporation, Asia World Company Limited |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Concrete faced rock-fill dam |
| Impounds | Irawaddy River (Ayeyawady River) |
| Height | 139.6 m (458 ft)[1] |
| Length | 1,310 m (4,300 ft) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Myitsone reservoir |
| Total capacity | 13.282 billion m3 |
| Surface area | 447 km2 (173 sq mi) |
| Maximum water depth | 121 m (397 ft) |
| Power Station | |
| Installed capacity | 6,000 MW (8,000,000 hp) |
| Annual generation | 30.86 billion kWh |
The Myitsone Dam (Burmese: မြစ်ဆုံ တာတမံ [mjɪʔsʰòʊɰ̃ tàtəmàɰ̃]; lit. 'Confluence Dam') is a large dam and hydroelectric power development project which was planned to be built in northern Myanmar. The proposed construction site is at the confluence of the Mali and N’mai rivers and the source of the Irawaddy River (Ayeyawady River).[2] As of 2017[update] the project is suspended,[3] but China has been lobbying to revive the dam.[4][5]
Had the dam been completed according to plans in 2017 it would have been the fifteenth largest hydroelectric power station in the world. The dam, planned to be 1,310 metres (4,300 ft) long and 139.6 metres (458 ft) high, was to be built by the Upstream Ayeyawady Confluence Basin Hydropower Company. The company is a joint venture between the China Power Investment Corporation (CPI), the Burmese Government's Ministry of Electric Power, and the Asia World Company.[6][7] The dam was planned to have a generation capacity of 6,000 megawatts and to produce electricity primarily for export to Yunnan, China.[2][8] CPI contended that China would not be the electricity's primary market and stated that Myanmar would have first claim on the electricity generated, with the remainder sold for export. Opponents remained skeptical because most Burmese are not connected to the electrical grid, and doubted whether the dam would improve their livelihood.[9]
The dam project has been controversial in Burma due to its enormous flooded area, environmental impacts, location 60 miles from the Sagaing faultline, and uneven share of electricity output between the two countries.[10] The Burmese public regard the Irrawaddy River as the birthplace of Burmese civilization. Although access to the Chinese market guarantees the dam's electricity sales, for many Burmese the Myitsone Dam represents growing Chinese influence in Burma which they perceive as "exploitative" to the country hitherto isolated by Western economic sanctions.[11][12] Even government officials have differing opinions on the project.[8]
On 30 September 2011, amid democratic reforms in the country, President Thein Sein announced that the Myitsone Dam project was to be suspended during his tenure. Because the government appeared to have taken public opinion into account, the unexpected decision was seen as a reversal of the authoritarian rule since the coup in 1962.[13]
- ^ "Myitsone Dam project will continue: Power Minister". Kachin Development Networking Group. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ^ a b "Factbox: Myanmar suspends controversial Myitsone Dam". Reuters. 30 September 2011. Archived from the original on February 6, 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
- ^ Wangkiat, Paritta (15 January 2017). "Against the flow". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
- ^ Zhou, Laura (20 January 2019). "China faces backlash as it bids to rekindle stalled US$3.6 billion Myitsone Dam project". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
- ^ McCann, Gregory (2 August 2019). "Myanmar's Environmental Challenges". Asia Sentinel. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
- ^ "US embassy cables: how Rangoon office helped opponents of Myitsone Dam". The Guardian. London. 30 September 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- ^ "NGO working with Myitsone Dam firm to establish wildlife park in NDA-K area". Burma News International. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
- ^ a b Libre, Ryan (1 February 2010). "Proposed dam to flood Burma, while powering China". MinnPost. Archived from the original on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
- ^ Hammond, Clare (5 June 2015). "CPI pushes for restart of Myitsone Dam". The Myanmar Times. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ^ "MYITSONE JOURNAL; Dam Plan for Iconic Myanmar River Stirs Unheard-of Public Protests". New York Times. 29 September 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
- ^ The Economist, "Relations with Myanmar: Less thunder out of China", 6 October 2012.
- ^ "Xinhua Insight: ASEAN-China Expo rekindles hopes for hydropower project". Xinhua. 4 September 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
- ^ "Burma dam: Work halted on divisive Myitsone project". BBC. 30 September 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2011.