Myanmar - Hydropower projects on Ngaw Chan Hka River depend on Kachin residents: Speaker

Myanmar - Hydropower projects on Ngaw Chan Hka River depend on Kachin
residents: Speaker

Implementation of hydropower projects on Ngaw Chan Hka River in Kachin State
will depend on the residents, said Tun Tin, Kachin State Parliament's
Speaker, at a meeting of MPs, company executives, and the director of
Electricity and Energy Department at Kachin State parliament building
yesterday.

"We discussed the hydropower project. However, MPs haven't discussed it yet.
The company said that they carried out a survey of the hydropower project.
If the project is implemented, many advantages and disadvantages will come
out. In my opinion, it is very important that the project is accepted by the
residents. If the residents do not accept it, there is no point in
implementation of the hydropower project. If the project is implemented
without the residents' approval, it may be like the Myitsone dam hydropower
project. Residents said that if the project would be built, their farmland
and eco-system would be damaged. However, MPs need to explain the long-term
interest of the hydropower project after listening to residents," said
Speaker Tun Tin.

" Some villages in our constituency are involved in the Ngaw Chan Hka
hydropower project. The residents have unclear data. The project has
advantages but also disadvantages. It is right the project would bring
benefits to the country but the place is the native land of the residents.
If the project is implemented, there will be good transportation access to
Hsawlaw and other regions.

"The Ngaw Chan Hka hydropower project is a small one. It isn't like the
Myitsone dam project. The proposed site was the fighting area in the past.
If the situation is complicated like the Myitsone dam project, what can I
do?

"The project will be implemented in October and November. It is a good
project according to regional conditions. However, the residents can't
accept it," said the MP from No.1 constituency of Hsawlaw Township.

There are 51 villages and over 30,000 people residing at the Myanmar side on
the Ngaw Chan Hka River.

About 2,000 residents of Chipwi Township staged a protest on March 14
against eight proposed dams on May Hka and Ngaw Chan Hka Rivers in Kachin
State.

The survey teams met with the residents at the new hospital in Chanmawkhon
region on May 21. Attendees asked about substitution of villages, terrace
farming and crop compensation. But, objections were raised at the time
because the survey team could not provide adequate answers for residents.

The Ministry of Electric Power signed a joint-venture agreement with the
companies for four dam projects on the Ngaw Chan Hka River in April 2014.

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Link to Original Article: http://www.elevenmyanmar.com/local/10897

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com