Myanmar, China sign hydropowr agreement

Jan 1, 2007 - energycentral.com

Yangon - Myanmar and China have signed an agreement for a 600-megawatt hydropower project on the Shweli Rive in northeastern Myanmar near the Chinese border, Myanmar state-run media reported Monday.

Representatives of the two sides signed the agreement at a ceremony in the country's new capital Maypyitaw on Saturday, the New Light of Myanmar reported.

The Shweli No. 1 Hydel Power Project will be implemented about 27 kilometers southwest of Nahkam, sa small town in Myanmar's northeastern Shan State, near the border with China's Yunnan Province.

The project, after completion, would boost 4,022 million kilowaatt hours of electricity annually to Myanmar's heavily overloaded national grid system, the paper said.

No other details of the project were reported.

Military-rulled Myanmar faces constant power shortages as consumption has increased 3.7 times while the installed power capacity has increased only 2.5 times over the past two decades, according to official figures.

The country has an installed capacity of 1,701 MW abut the plants actually produce around 1,000 MW most of the year due to unstable water levels at dams.