PLEASE CIRCULATE WIDELY!

 

SALWEEN WATCH HOTMAIL-OUT

 

Date:    November 1999. Issue # 3

Note: This is the final version of this document. Please use instead of any previous version

 

 

 

1. STATUS OF THE SALWEEN (THANLWIN) DAM PLANS

November 1999 – A Report by Images Asia and TERRA

2. STATUS OF THE HYDRO POWER PROJECTS TO BE IMPLEMENTED FOR POWER EXPORT TO THAILAND

EGAT 24TH December 1998


3. Open letter regarding the "Workshop on Transboundary Waters: The Salween Basin" to be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, September 13-16, 1999

Salween Watch, 13th of September 1999


4. BACKGROUND TO SALWEEN WATCH OPEN LETTER


5.
POSITION OF KNU REGARDING PROJECTS FOR BUILDING DAMS ON SALWEEN

Office of the Supreme Headquarters, Karen National Union, Kawthoolei. November 2, 1999.


6. MEETING WITH DAM BUILDERS

Salween Watch. 8th October 1999


7. "Thanlwin Basin Hydropower Development Study in Myanmar and Thailand including Transmission Interconnection between the two countries".

SUBREGIONAL ENERGY SECTOR STUDY FOR ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK;

Draft Report, June 1994; Norconsult International


8. Letter Regarding EPDC From Japanese NGO

Date: Mon, 18 Jan 99


9. POWER BILL HIKE

Bangkok Post, 4th August 1999


10. The World Water Vision (of the World Bank, UNU, FAO, etc.)

From: "Cele, Bongwie" <b.cele@unesco.org>; 12 Nov 1999


11. Junta Fortifying the Salween Dam Site

S.H.A.N.. October 1999, No: 10 - 6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

STATUS OF THE SALWEEN (THANLWIN) DAM PLANS

[AS OF NOVEMBER 1999]

 

 

DRAFT REPORT, IMAGES ASIA -- TERRA;  NOVEMBER 1999

 

 

The Proposed Tasang Dam

 

The status of the dam planning is far more advanced than was previously thought. The dam developers have secretly and gradually proceeded with their planning up to the point where they are now reportedly about to start the "Definite Plan Study". Representatives of GMS Power Public Co. Ltd., the contract holder for the Tasang Hydropower Project, have told Shan resistance figures that the feasibility study for the dam is now finished and that they want the Shan's cooperation to carry out the definite plan. This is borne out by leaked government documents and seminar papers prepared by senior staff from Panya Consultants, a group involved in planning the water diversions.

 

The initiation of the definite plan study indicates that one or other or both the Thai and Burmese governments must have given some level of approval for the dam construction at that site. "Definite Plans" are usually done only after a definite decision has been taken to do the project. "Feasibility studies" are done with the aim of giving the decision makers the information they require to decide whether the development project is feasible or not. Definite plan studies are very expensive to prepare. To carry out the studies for and design of a large dam costs millions of dollars. Spending such large amounts of money indicates further strong high level determination to carry on with the dam project.

 

The Tasang Hydropower Project studies have been carried out by GMS Power Plc. Co. Ltd. and consultants working for it. GMS Power is a subsidiary of the MDX Group of Companies, an influential Thai group featuring former senior MP's and ex-directors of the government electricity generating authority called EGAT. MDX is also involved in dam projects in Laos, Cambodia and Yunnan.

 

According to leaked documents GMS signed a contract with the Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) The Union of Myanmar in September 1997. It then subcontracted to Lahmeyer International, a German consulting engineering firm to assist with the pre-feasibility study. The GMS reps are quoted as saying the desk, reconnaissance and pre-feasibility studies were done at the same time, starting from November 1997. This study was completed and submitted in April 1998.

 

The Electric Power Development Corporation of Japan (EPDC) was contracted to carry out (or assist with) the feasibility study. According to the reported comments of the GMS representatives, the "second stage" or feasibility study was done between October 1998 and  March 1999. This is borne out by local and NGO observers who reported that Thai, Japanese and other foreigners visited the Tasang site and carried out sampling activities during this time, although they did not stay long.

 

Other Shan sources have sent information about another small group comprising one German, one Englishman and one Burmese carrying out geographic survey activities in villages deep inside the Shan State. The foreigners identified themselves to a Shan cease-fire group that was ordered to accompany them as land surveyors working on the Tasang (Salween) Hydropower Project for a company named AAM (Thailand) Co. Ltd. They started in March 1999 and said they would complete their work by November 1999.

 

The GMS Power representatives in describing the roles of these groups said that "EPDC were only consultants, AAM were doing reconnaissance for GMS", and that another company called GMT were "doing drilling for GMS"

 

They said the third and final phase was for the definite plan, which with the cooperation of the Shans would take 7 months.

 

It is noteworthy that the Shan resistance groups are under heavy pressure from the Thais to refrain from obstructing the project. They are especially vulnerable to this pressure at the present time as the Shan organisations currently active against the Burmese military have been working hard to clear themselves of allegations of being involved in the drug trade. They have been doing this by making numerous attacks on drug trafficking organisations as well as the Burmese Army units. Compared with other groups that have not renounced the trade they are financially weak and occasionally in need of flexibility on the part of the Thais. Although the armed groups are increasingly aware of the potential negative impacts of the dam on their people and their movement, they are severely constrained in how they can deal with the issue. There is some evidence to support a view that those seen as being in a position to threaten the dam are being subjected to a strategy aimed at dividing, trapping and co-opting them.

 

 

Details of the Tasang Dam Plans

 

The Tasang Dam site is in the southern part of the central Shan State, six kilometres north of the new Tasang Bridge and around 40 kilometres north of where the river takes a distinct turn to the west and flows towards Karenni (Kayah) State.

 

According to the pre-feasibility study the dam would produce 3,300 megawatts of power, although different documents variously state 3,500 or 3,600 megawatts. Annual production would be around 23,000 Gwh.

 

The plans call for a massive 188 metre (617') high concrete faced rockfill dam. The studies claim that the water level will rise from the existing river level at the site of 196 metres (645') to a stated "full supply level" of 350 metres (1149') above sea level. The "head" of the dam is put at 142 metres (466').

 

It is possible that the developers are not being fully truthful about the height of the floodwaters, as there is a marked disparity in the height of the top of the dam and the stated "full supply level". At 188 metres high the crest of the dam would be 384 metres (1,260') above sea level, which would leave a difference of fully 34 metres (111') between the full supply level and the crest of the dam. A more normal distance between the top of the dam and the waters in full flood is unlikely to be more than 4 metres. It is therefore possible that the flood waters could rise considerably higher than stated.

 

The GMS engineers claim the area to be flooded by the Tasang Dam would be 640 square kilometres, although they admit that the waters would reach back to Tayang Township. From analysis of 1 inch to 1 mile maps it is evident that the reservoir at the 350 metre elevation would stretch back over 230 linear kilometres (145 miles) from the dam wall, as well as flooding back to inundate the lower parts of 3 significant tributaries. If the actual flood level is up to 30 metres higher the surface area of the reservoir would be very significantly larger than claimed.

 

The pre-feasibility study cites the dam as provisionally having 6 turbines rated at 550 MW each. It would hold 36,100,000,000 cubic metres of water when full, approximately a third of the rivers annual flow of 119,037 million cubic metres per year.

 

The GMS representatives have denied that the Tasang Dam has anything to do with the diversion of water to Thailand. Despite the denials, there remains the possibility that some form of the old plans drawn up in 1981 by the Japanese consulting firm Nippon Koei Co. Ltd. may be revived at some point in the future. If built, the Tasang Dam would conveniently raise the water level to a point from where the water could be pumped up into a holding dam from where it could be sent down a tunnel that would deliver it into the Hkok River. Further downstream the Nam Hkok is itself the subject of advanced water diversion plans that would send a large measure of its waters into the Sirikit Dam on the Chaophraya River. That project is called the Kok-Ing-Nan Water Diversion Project.

 

 

Power Transmission

 

The project would require high voltage power lines to be built that would connect with the Thai and Burmese national grids. Power to Thailand would be delivered through a 500 kVA transmission line to the substation at Chiang Mai in Thailand, 130 kilometers to the south. Power supply to Burma may be either through power lines running directly west into Burma or south into Thailand to connect to a regional power grid that would then join back into Burma.

 

Due to the high cost and great vulnerability of a high voltage transmission system connecting the dam to the Burmese grid it is possible that the lines bringing power into Thailand may be connected back to the Burmese national grid through a more secure route. The Burmese government faces serious cash and security problems as well as power supply shortages. Even if the dam is financed it will be hard for them to both raise the money for the additional high voltage power line and to secure the areas through which it passes. A 230 or 500kVA transmission cable to Taunggyi, or to the even more distant electricity substation at Pyinmana, would be expensive and very difficult to guard. It would pass through areas accessible to some of the most durable resistance groups in the world. One of these groups, the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), has frequently demonstrated the vulnerability of power lines in Burma by cutting them many times, and have even launched rocket attacks that have damaged the heavily guarded Baluchaung Power station itself.

 

To get around the problem of securely delivering electric power from the dam the electricity may first be taken directly into Thailand before being sent into Burma by another more secure route. Such a development has already been discussed at high level, and is the subject of a plan drawn up by the Department of Electric Power of the Thai government to join Burma and Thailand with a 230kVA power line through Mae Sot – MyawaddyPaanPegu.

 

Thailand currently faces a massive surplus of electric power, while Burma has long been faced with a deep energy crisis that features daily blackouts throughout the country. It is possible that the power transmission line may actually be built well before the completion of the Tasang Dam to bail out the SPDC with some of Thailand's surplus. Political agreement on this might take place within a "constructive engagement" context as part of the healing of current rocky relations between Thailand and Burma. Despite a presumable unwillingness of the Burmese military to become dependent on power from Thailand, the SPDC is may be receptive to this as it has reportedly taken the step of increasing the price of domestic power by a remarkable 1,000 percent. The SPDC appears to have serious intention to have the Salween dammed, so having such a power line in place may be seen as furthering the approval processes of the Thai government.

 

 

The Proposed Hutgyi Dam

 

A pre-feasibility study for a smaller dam on the Salween River near the former Karen resistance headquarters of Manerplaw is the second most advanced study. The study is called the "Preliminary Feasibility Study of Hutgyi Hydropower Project in the Union of Myanmar". The Hutgyi Dam site is 33 kilometres downstream from the confluence of the Salween and Moei Rivers, and is upstream from the Karen State capital of Pa-an.

 

The study is the result of an agreement between the Myanmar Electric Power Enterprise (MEPE) and a group of developers including Marubeni Corporation of Japan and Italian Thai Development Plc. Co., Ltd..

 

The study was done with the involvement of NEWJEC Inc., a Japanese consultant group that is a subsidiary of the giant Kansai Electric Power Company. The completed study was handed over to the MEPE and SPDC in August 1998. It is not known if there has been any further action on this plan.

 

If built, the Hutgyi dam would be a concrete gravity dam 37 metres (121') high from base to top. The dam would be a so-called "run-of-river dam" that would not have a large reservoir and would be designed so as not to flood much Thai soil. According to a paper prepared by senior staff of Panya Consultants Co. Ltd., the "normal high water level" of the dam would be 48 metres (157'). The elevation of the river at the border of Thailand and Burma is 46 metres (149').

 

The dam would have an installed capacity of a mere 300 megawatts of electricity, and would supposedly produce 2,150 gigawatt hours of electricity per year. It would have 8 turbines producing 37.5 megawatts each.

 

A 230 kVA power transmission line would reportedly connect the dam to the Burmese power distribution point at Thaton (or Pa-an). Another 230kVA line would possibly be installed to connect it to a Thai electricity substation in Tak, although the cost of covering the 230 kilometer distance would be a strong disincentive, as would be the small amount of electricity available.

 

From newspaper articles it is understood that the Burmese military government is interested in this project but the Thai government is cool to it.

 

Although not evidently a part of the current pre-feasibility planning, it is possible that the 500kVA power cable supplying electricity to Burma from the Tasang Dam and the regional energy grid will be made to pass through this way instead of making a separate 230kVA power line. If the 500 kVA Interconnection Transmission line that is currently being discussed at the ministerial level is implemented and routed in this direction it would serve the Hutgyi hydropower project. If not already approved it may also increase the likelihood of the Hutgyi dam being built.

 

Routing of a transmission line through this area would also increase the likelihood of other hydropower and water diversion dams eventually being built on the Salween or its tributaries the Moei, Yuam or Mae Ngao rivers.

 

Two other sites for large dams on the Salween have also been identified which could be served by the transmission line if they are eventually built. These are the 792 megawatt Dagwin hydropower and water diversion dam and the 4540 megawatt Weigyi hydropower dam, respectively 30 km and 60 km north of the Salween - Moei confluence.

 

In February 1999 the Thai government approved 185 million baht in funding for studies into the feasibility of diverting water from the Salween River Basin into the Chaophraya River Basin. The Dagwin site is one of these. However most of the studies done focus on the Moei and its tributaries.

 

Possibly the most likely of these are the stepped pair comprising the Mae Lama Luang and Mae Ngao dams, close to the confluence of the Moei and Salween. They would be directly in the path of any power line going to the Hutgyi site. Mae Lama Luang is currently the location of a large refugee camp called Mae Ramu Klo which would be flooded out by dam construction at the site, further displacing the refugees and flooding rich teak forests.

 

 

Other Energy Projects in Burma

 

The Burmese military government has given high priority to dam building activities, and has also concentrated efforts on gas fired projects. Most of the 100 dams the SPDC Generals claim to have developed since 1988 are however solely for irrigation purposes. Some of the dams though are multipurpose projects that will produce a small amount of hydropower, while one major project, the 280 MW Paunglaung Dam and a number of small projects that will produce less than 4 megawatts each are for hydro electric power production alone.

 

MAJOR HYDROELECTRIC AND THERMAL POWER PROJECTS COMPLETED OR UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN BURMA (1999)

Note:  This list is not comprehensive. There are several older thermal and gas plants not listed, also numerous mini- hydro and diesel generators throughout the country, most not connected to the national grid

Name of Project, Location and Notes

Generating

Capacity

Project Status

Started - finished

Ywama Thermal Power Plant  --steam units 30MW

.                                        - Gas units 37 MW

67 MW

finished. '58 finished '75

Baluchaung #1 Power Station-- water from Mawbye Dam and Lawpita Falls, Baluchaung/ Pawn River, Karenni State

28 MW

finished 1960

Kyunchaung Gas Power Plant

54 MW

finished '74

Myanaung Gas Power Plant

68 MW

finished '75 & upgraded '84

Mawlamyine Thermal Power plant

12 MW

finished 1980

Mann Gas Power Plant

37 MW

finished 1980

Shwedaung Gas Power Plant

55 MW

finished 1982

South Nawin Hydro Electric Power Project --Paukhaung Township, Pegu Division Note: OECF Japan. Dam finished 1995 –  but power plant still only 30% complete in '98

(2.2) MW                                                                                                             

1985 -- unfinished

Kinda Dam -- Thazi Township, Mandalay Division(UNDP)

56 MW

finished 1985

Thaton Thermal Power Plant - steam units

.                                        - gas units

17 MW + 18MW

finished 1985

finished 1986

Sedawgyi Dam

25 MW

finished 1987

Thaketa Thermal Gas Power Plant -- central Burma

Renovate & upgrade(?) to Combined Cycle

52 MW ?

up to 57 MW?

finished 1989

'95 – when?

Baluchaung #2 -- Lawpita/Baluchaung/Pawn River, water also from Mawbye Dam (Mitsubishi)

168 MW

finished '94 - '95

Ahlon Combined Cycle Gas Power Plant -- Rangoon Division

93 MW

1993 -- 1998?

Hlawgar Combined Cycle Gas Power Plant -- Mingaladon, Rangoon

93 MW

1996 -- 1998?

Zawgyi Multipurpose Dam Project -- Yatsauk, Shan State

12 MW

finished 1998?

Zaungtu Multipurpose Dam Project -- Pegu River, Pegu Division (with Chinese financial assistance)

20 MW

'92 - poss. 12/99

Kanbauk gas fired power plant  -- Tavoy, Tenasserim Division (Genting Sanyen Co, Malaysia)

20 MW

'97 - poss. 2001?

Thapanseik Multipurpose Dam (Hydro & Irrigation) --  Mu River, Kyunhla Township, Sagaing Division (Chinese finance)

30MW                                                                                                                  

'96 -- 12/01?

Mon Chaung Dam Multipurpose Project -- Setoktara Township, Minbu, Magway Division  (Chinese finance)

75MW

'95 --12/2001

Paunglaung Hydro Electric Power Project -- Pyinmana, Mandalay Division, Shan, Karenni boundary (Chinese & Japanese finance)

280MW

'95-- 6/2002

Other gas or steam power plants include: Kanma; Kyungyaung; Yenangyaung; and Kyangin.

 

 

 

 

 

PLANNED HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANTS IN BURMA & ON THE THAI-BURMA BORDER

Project Name, Location, Notes

Installed Capacity

Status / Level of Study Completed

Study by:

Baluchaung #3 Hydropower Project- Baluchaung River near Lawpita falls, tributary of Pawn River, Karenni State

48 MW

Feasibility Study

 

N/A

(1985)

Tasang Hydropower Project - Salween River,

Murng Ton Township, Shan State

3,300 MW

Feasibility Study

Prefeasibility study

EPDC '99

Lahmeyer '98

Nam Hkok Hydropower Project - Nam Hkok / Kok River, Mong Hsat Township, Shan State

42 MW

Abandoned? - Draft Feasibility study submitted -

NEWJEC ('99)

Khlong Kra Hydropower project

40 MW

Abandoned?

Feasibility study

EPDC ('92)

Nam Mae Sai Hydropower project

12 MW

Abandoned?

Feasibility study

EPDC ('92)

Yeywa Hydro Electric Power Project

Namtu River, 50km from Mandalay in Shan State

600MW

Feasibility Study underway

Nippon Koei ('99)

Bilin Hydro Electric Dam - Bilin River

Bilin Township, Mon State

240MW

Feasibility Study

Prefeasibility Study

MEPE

Norconsult

('81)

Hutgyi Hydropower Project -

Kamamaung Township, Karen State

300 Mw

Prefeasibility Study

NEWJEC

(1998)

Htamanthi Hydropower Dam - Chindwin River,

Sagaing Division (note: High cost & isolation make this project unlikely)

1,200 MW

Prefeasibility Study

 

MEPE?

(1974)

Kun Chaung Hydropower project

tributary of Sittaung River, Pegu Division

84 MW

Preliminary Study

N/A

(1961)

Thanlwin Upper (Weigyi) -

4,540 MW

Preliminary Study

EPDC ('92)

Thanlwin Lower (Dagwin)

792 MW

Preliminary Study

EPDC ('92)

Moei #1 Hydropower Project

Moei / Thaungyin River, Thai Burma border

110 MW (70 MW)

Preliminary Study

EPDC ('92)

Moei #2 Hydropower Project

Moei / Thaungyin River, Thai Burma border

230 MW

(120 MW)

Preliminary Study

EPDC ('92)

Moei #3 Hydropower Project

Moei / Thaungyin River, Thai Burma border

288 MW

(250 MW)

Preliminary Study

EPDC ('92)

Yunzalin Hydropower Project -- Yunzalin River, Papun Township, Karen State

530 MW

Desk Study

N/A

Teng Falls Hydropower Project -- Teng River, Salween tributary, Shan State

123 MW

Desk Study

N/A

Thanlwin (Ywathit) Hydropower Project

3,500 MW

N/A

MEPE ('90)

Shwezaye Hydropower Project -- Chindwin River, Sagaing Division

600 MW

N/A

MEPE?

Mawlaik Hydropower Project -- Chindwin River, Sagaing Division

400 MW

N/A

MEPE?

Homelin Hydropower Project -- Chindwin River, Sagaing Division

150 MW

N/A

MEPE?

Pyu Hydropower Project -- River, Pegu Division

65 MW

N/A

MEPE?

Kabaung Hydropower Project -- River, Pegu Division

30 MW

N/A

MEPE?

Yenwe Hydropower Project -- Pegu Division

16 MW

N/A

MEPE?

Kabaung Hydropower Project -- Pegu Division

30 MW

N/A

MEPE?

Bawgata Hydropower Project -- Nyaunglebin District, Karen State

160 MW

N/A

MEPE?

Tanintharyi Hydropower Project

600 MW

N/A

MEPE?

 

 

References:

1.      Norconsult International A.S., Draft Final Report, June 1994: Subregional Energy Sector Study for the Asian Development Bank:  Promoting Subregional Cooperation Among Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the Yunnan Province of the People's Republic of China.

2.      World Bank, March 1992: Myanmar: Energy Sector Investment and Policy Review Study; Report # 10394-BA, Pg vii 19 Generation Options

3.      Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development, 1998: Review of the Financial, Economic and Social Conditions for 1997 / 98.

4.      Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development, 1997: Review of the Financial, Economic and Social Conditions for 1996 / 97.

5.      Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development, 1996: Review of the Financial, Economic and Social Conditions for 1995 / 96.

6.      Vatcharasinthu and Babel, Panya Consultants, September 1999: Hydropower Potential and Water Diversion from the Salween Basin, paper presented at Workshop on Transboundary Waters: The Salween Basin

7.      New Light of Myanmar, 1995 - 1997, various articles

8.      Ing Barings, October 1996: Myanmar Review, Indochina Research, Pgs 30 31.

9.      Myanmar Electric Power Enterprise; (Map entitled) Major Hydroelectric Projects Under Implementation & Planning (Thai language page footers)

 

 

 

 

2. STATUS OF THE HYDRO POWER PROJECTS TO BE IMPLEMENTED FOR POWER EXPORT TO THAILAND

 

EGAT 24TH December 1998

 

A document titled as above was leaked earlier this year and was passed to Salween Watch. The document discussed 3 projects that were being investigated by 3 companies: the MDX Group of Companies (Thailand), Marubeni Corporation (Japan) and Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited. The 3 groups were working together on an initial project, the medium Nam Kok hydropower project. It appears that they have subsequently split up to focus on 2 other larger projects. This however could be simply appearances – the close links may still remain.

 

 

1. Nam Kok Hydropower Project

 

Location:      About 64 km south of Mong Hsat in Eastern Shan State,

and about 5 km north of the Thai-Burma border.

 

River System:           Nam Kok River, right side tributary of the Mekong River

 

Project Status:        1. In September 1996, agreement between Myanma

Electric Power Enterprise [MEPE] and a group of

developers consisting of Marubeni Corporation of Japan,

Italian-Thai Development Public Co. Ltd. And MDX

Group of Companies was signed for the feasibility of the

Nam Kok Hydropower Project.

 

2. At present, Developer’s Consultant, NEWJEC

Inc. of Japan is finishing the feasibility study. The final

report will be available by the end of December 1998

 

3. According to the Draft Feasibility Report, the installed

capacity of the project is 42 megawatts, capable of

                        producing 230 Gwh annually. The financial feasibility of

the project is marginal due to the unfavourable

topographical and geological condition of the selected dam

                        site.

 

[NOTE: The Feasibility Study has since been submitted – but is said to have been rejected on the basis of the project being financially unfeasible. One source also alleges that the developers have had difficulties with local businesses and the Tourism authority. This may or may not be true, depending on the long term strategy of the governments, which may involve making the project seem dead until such time as the increased perception of need for water makes it appear viable again.]

 

 

2. Hutgyi Hydropower Project

 

Location:      About 65 km North of Pa-an in the Karen State, and

about 25km from the Burma - Thai border

 

River System:           Thanlwin River (Salween)

 

Project Status:        1. In June 1997, agreement between

Myanmar Electric Power Enterprise and a group of

developers led by  Marubeni Corporation of Japan and

Italian-Thai Development Public Co. Ltd was signed for the

Pre-feasibility study of Hutgyi Hydropower Project.

 

                        2. According to the Draft Pre-feasibility Report submitted

by Developer’s Consultant, the installed capacity of the

project is 300 MW, capable of producing constant energy

as a base load of 2,148 Gwh annually.

 

3. The project is designed as a run-of-river type power

plant with a pondage that will utilize a huge amount of

discharge (firm discharge 1,420 m3/s) with the help of a

low height dam, in order not to submerge the international

boundary between two countries.

 

 

 

3. Tasang Hydropower Project

 

Location:      About 30 km northwest of Mong Ton in Eastern Shan

State, and about 80km from the Myanmar - Thai border

 

River System:           The Thanlwin River

 

Project Status:        1. In September 1997, agreement between Myanma

Economic Corporation and MDX Group of Companies

(GMS Power Public Company Ltd) was signed for the

feasibility study of the Tasang Hydropower Project.

 

2. Developers Consultant Lahmeyer International has

submitted the Pre-feasibility Study Report in April 1998.

 

3.According to the Pre-feasibility Study, the installed

capacity of the project is about 3,300 MW, capable of

producing 23,000 Gwh annually.

 

4. At present Developer has assigned Electric Power

Development Co. Ltd. [EPDC] to perform feasibility study

for the project with a target for completion of the study

by August 1999.

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Open letter regarding the "Workshop on Transboundary Waters: The Salween Basin" to be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, September 13-16, 1999

 

Salween Watch, 13th of September 1999

 

 

A grouping of academics, government officials, business consultancy groups and multilateral banks are to hold a workshop to discuss transboundary water resource issues focussing on the development of the Salween River Basin. The meeting is to be a closed door, confidential gathering ostensibly to "promote dialogue among representatives of the various interests of the Salween Basin."

 

However, conspicuously lacking from the participant list are the indigenous peoples who would inevitably bear the costs of such development of the Salween River. Instead the listed participants of the meeting are members of an elite that in no way represent the interests of local communities. The participants include the Director General of the "Myanmar Department of Electricity" and several other Burmese government officials; Directors from the Thai Royal Irrigation Department and the Department of Energy Development and Promotion; specialists from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank; water engineers and academics from China, Japan, Canada, the USA, Mexico and Thailand; as well as dam construction consultants and developers, namely Panya Consultants and Italian-Thai.

 

The workshop seems closely linked to plans to dam the Salween to produce hydroelectricity and to divert water to Thailand. Thai and Burmese governments, with the assistance of Japanese, Thai and Norwegian consultants, have been preparing these plans for the past decade, carefully concealing them from the people, particularly those living within the river basin. These ethnic peoples have been suffering from years of warfare and gross human rights violations inflicted by the Burmese military regime. Many hundreds of thousands have already been displaced from their lands. Some of the largest recent displacements have been taking place precisely in the same areas and at the same time that surveyors began studies at the site of a potential dam on the river in the Shan State.

 

At least five sites have now been studied for dams in the Salween River Basin, a process which closely follows the recommendations of consultants working for the Asian Development Bank under the Greater Mekong Sub-regional Development Program. These plans have advanced well beyond the point where environmental and social impact assessments should have been carried out. In the meantime there has been absolutely no consultation with the real stakeholders in the projects: the indigenous people who stand to lose their lands forever.

 

The damming of the Salween River would lead to the flooding of large tracts of forest and farmland. It would drown villages, and disrupt agriculture and fisheries above and below the dam. A giant dam would also be a grave hazard in an area that frequently experiences earthquakes. In addition, any dam on the Salween would be enormously expensive, contributing to the already massive national debts of Thailand and Burma. Thailand already has more than sufficient electricity supplies, and can find more appropriate and equitable ways to address water resource issues.

 

We are gravely concerned that the planned workshop excludes participation by genuine representatives of the affected groups and will simply be used to legitimize a deeply flawed development process.  

 

We the undersigned therefore demand that any planning for such large scale developments be done in a way that:

 

* Is fully open, transparent and honest;

* Is genuinely ecologically sound and sustainable over the long term;

* Fully recognizes and respects the human, civil and political rights of all the development affected peoples, ensuring their informed participation and fully compensating them for any losses incurred.

 

We further demand that any such plans or projects that cannot be proven to meet the above conditions be abandoned without delay

 

U Teddy Buri, MP, Loikaw 2 Constituency, National League for Democracy, Karenni State

Khun Marko Ban, MP, Pekone Constituency, Democratic Organisation for Kayan National Unity, Shan State

Sai Win Pay, MP, Mong Su Constituency, Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, Shan State

U Daniel Aung, MP, Mong Peng Constituency, Lahu National Development Party, Shan State

Salween Watch

South East Asia Rivers Network

Assembly of the Poor

Shan Human Rights Foundation

Karenni Evergreen

Karen Youth Organisation

Lahu Youth Organisation

National League for Democracy (Liberated Area)

Legal Aid for Marginalised People

Karenni National Youth Agency

All Burma Students' Democratic Front

Lahu Women’s Organisation

South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People

APEC Monitor NGO Network, Japan

Citizens Alliance in Reforms for Efficient and Equitable Development, Pakistan

Shan Democratic Union

Lahu National Development Organisation

Karenni Farmers' Network

Democratic Party for a New Society

Karen Nature Conservation Group

Lahu Democratic Front

The Buddhist Sangha of Shan State

Friends of the People

Shan Women's Action Network

Green November 32

Ethnic Studies Centre, Chiang Mai

Karenni National Women's Organisation

Pa-O People's Liberation Organisation

Wildlife Fund Thailand

Shan State Organisation

The Students and Youth Congress of Burma

Karenni Human Rights and Law Education Team

Migrant Assistance Program

People's Liberation Front of Burma

Palaung Youth Network Group

Karenni Teachers' Union

Karen Student Network Group

Political Defiance Committee of the National Council of the Union of Burma

Karenni Human Rights and News Agency

 

 

4. BACKGROUND TO SALWEEN WATCH OPEN LETTER

 

 

Dear friends and fellow activists:

 

We would like to request you for your organisation’s endorsement of the attached letter.

 

We would also like to inform you of some of the recent developments in regard to the plans to dam the Salween River. It has recently come to light that these plans are far more advanced than was anticipated, which makes it all the more urgent to take a stand on the issue.

 

Please be informed of the following information:

 

In 1994, the Asian Development Bank commissioned and energy sector study that was done by Norconsult, a consultancy group that has prepared plans for many dams in the region. It recommended that studies be done for dams on the whole Salween River Basin to choose the best places to make dams, and in what order.

 

Up till now, serious studies have been done for five different sites on the Salween. These sites are:

 

1. Hutgyi, in Northern Karen State next to the strongest rapid on the Salween River not far from Hti Pah Wi Cho Mountain. The current plans are for a 300 megawatt dam. A pre-feasibility study has so far been done (the 3rd of 5 levels of study).

 

2. Ta Sarng, in Southern Shan State. The plans are for a 3,300 MW dam, which will be 190 m high, and will flood back along two-thirds of the length of the Shan State, and the water will cover at least 600 sq. km. The plan is to sell of the electricity produced to Thailand. Although not mentioned, there is serious cause to think that the real reason for building the dam is to divert water to Thailand. So far, a pre-feasibility study, started in 1996, has been completed. The Japanese semi-government consultancy group called Electric Power Development Corporation (EPDC) is involved in the studies. The plans for the Ta Sarng Dam seem to be much more advanced than for any of the sites.

 

3. Salween Dam at Weigyi, in northern Karen State close to the Karenni-Karen border. The second level or preliminary study has been completed by EPDC since 1992 and calls for a 4,540 MW dam. These plans have not been mentioned in newspaper articles or official documents since mid-1994.

 

4. Lower Salween Dam at Dagwin, in northern Karen State, not far below the Weigyi site. The dam was designed to work together with the Weigyi Dam, and to have the capacity to produce 792 MW of electricity. A preliminary study for this dam was done at the same time as the Weigyi dam.

 

5. Upper Salween - Mae Taeng Dam at a site north east of Ho Mong, in southern Shan State. A feasibility study (4th stage) was started by Panya Consultants and Team Consultants of Thailand, and aimed to finish in 1994. However there is no information that the study was ever completed. The information available says the dam would produce 4,000 MW of electricity, but the main reason for the dam would be to divert up to 10% of the water from the river (up to 12 billion cubic metres per year) to Thailand through long tunnels.

 

Except for a small amount of information about the Weigyi and Dagwin dam plans, no details of the plans have been made publicly available by the governments. The studies have been done in secret, or in ways that appear designed to mislead.

 

After years of disagreement between the Burmese and Thai governments over developing the Salween River, an MoU agreement was finally signed between these governments under General Chavalit's administration in July 1997 for Thailand to buy 1,500 MW of electricity from the Burmese regime by 2010. An agreement for Thailand to take water from the Salween was not made at the time, but was said to be close. The Thai government has been actively trying to persuade the Burmese government to let them do this.

 

In February '99 the Thai government approved plans to spend 185 million baht for water diversion from the Salween Basin to Thailand. This is a significantly high budget, indicating highly detailed studies will be done.

 

The Thai government has not made clear whether the water is to be diverted from tributaries of the Salween in Thailand (eg. Mae Nam Yuam / Ra Mu Klo) or from the main body of the river itself. Pre-feasibility or feasibility studies have been completed for a number of medium size dams on these tributaries. These plans have however, met strong resistance from Thai villagers and NGO's.

 

The dam builders are said to be currently approaching Thai academics to conduct environmental impact assessments for the Salween dams.

 

These and the other factors indicate that the dam plans are well advanced and the workshop that will be held is simply aiming to gain more support for the projects. We therefore appeal to you to join us in voicing our concerns about the dam-planning and approval processes that are underway, which we consider to be fundamentally unsound, undemocratic, and against the interests of the peoples of Burma.

 

Salween Watch

 

 

 

5. POSITION OF KNU REGARDING PROJECTS FOR BUILDING DAMS ON SALWEEN

 

 

OFFICE OF THE SUPREME HEADQUARTERS

KAREN NATIONAL UNION

KAWTHOOLEI

 

 

November 2, 1999.

 

Regarding the projects for building dams on the Salween River for generation of electrical power, we the KNU maintain our position as follows.

 

(1) Projects for building super-dams, for generation of electrical power, must be undertaken, in accordance with the will of the people, by a legitimate government elected by the people, only after a exhaustive study, in relation to the benefit they would bring to the people, in terms of raising the living standard, and economic development of a country. Since the present SPDC military dictatorship government is not a government

elected by the people, it has absolutely no right to undertake or give sanction for the building of such dams.

 

(2) As the sites of Hud-je Dam Project, Weh-je dam Project, Dar-gwin Dam Project

etc, are in the Karen State, and are directly related to the interest of the Karen people, they must not be implemented without the approval of the Karen people. It is our view that the consequences of building these dams, such as the destruction of the habitat and environment of the indigenous Karen people, including their farms, pastures and plantations for livelihood, would pose a serious danger to them.

 

(3) The SPDC military dictatorship is totalitarian regime that has seized state power by force. Currently, it is conducting a genocidal military offensive known as "Operation Moe Hein" against the Karen people.  In this operation, the SPDC troops are perpetrating

inhuman and criminal acts of forced relocation, forced labor, wholesale destruction of food stocks, harvests and livestock, looting of valuables, rape of women etc. against the Karen people. If the dam projects were to be started, there would be a more violent war of wholesale destruction and genocide.

 

(4) For these reasons, we the KNU totally object to these dam projects. Accordingly, countries intending to invest in these projects should reconsider their options, in consideration of the plight of the Karen people, the struggle for establishment of a democratic system and establishment of a genuine federal union.

 

 

 

 

6. MEETING WITH DAM BUILDERS

 

Salween Watch,  8 October 1999

 

 

On the 7th of October a small group of Shan leaders met with representatives of one of the development companies actively seeking to build the dams on the Salween. [Names are to be withheld for security reasons]. The company was wooing the Shans to gain their cooperation in implementing the studies they want to do.

 

Representatives of the company told the Shans that they would be happy to answer all the questions they might have. It turned out that they evaded answering most of the key questions, although they promised to forwarded a list of questions the Shans had prepared to their boss.

 

The Shans related that they had "learned a few things" from the developers. Among these were the following points as told to the Shans:

 

"GMS Power (Greater Mekhong Subregion Power) is an offspring of MDX, and specializes in producing electric power. It is currently working in Jinghong, in Sibsongbanna and in Cambodia. They used to work with Ital-Thai at Thaton, Mae-ai, but abandoned the project because it wasn't feasible. Reasons: Kok River is under the Irrigation Department and both the sand sellers and Tourist Organization are opposing it."

 

"They started work at Tasang in November 1997 for the first phase (which included Desk, Reconnaissance and Pre-Feasibility)."

 

"Second Phase (Feasibility) was done from Oct 1998 until March 1999."

 

"The Third and Final Phase is for the Definite Plan, which, with the Shans' cooperation, could begin in December and would last for 7 months."

 

"EPDC    - only consultants

AAM     - doing reconnaissance for GMS

GMT     - doing drilling for GMS"

 

"They didn't choose the projects along the Thai border. Because it was sure to make a big flood area and cause a never-ending territorial dispute. In fact, the firm's standing policy is to build dams only inside territories of a country."

 

"They chose Tasang because it is where the river flows through deep and steep gorges and therefore would make a small flood area."

 

"According to their British map given by the Burmese, the river would back-flood to Tangyan, Lashio District."

 

"They assured us that the project had nothing to do with diversion of water into Thailand."

 

"As for the SIA and EIA, they shall be doing it in the third phase, although they have already done the IEE (Initial Environmental Examinations)."

 

"They promised to send a copy of their plans for the third phase, and also to meet when the Shans needed them."

 

 

 

7. Damming the Salween: The ADB Recommendations

 

It is significant that the planning process on the Salween seems very much to be following the prescription of the 1994 Asian Development Bank energy sector project profile. It has however progressed a lot beyond this project profile, which calls for "desk studies", the first level of study out of five. The five are: Desk study; Preliminary or Reconnaissance study; Pre-feasibility study; Feasibility study; and Definite Plan.

 

According to both published and leaked documents it appears that on the main body of the river, pre-feasibility studies have been completed on at least 2 sites. One of these is in Karen State [Hutgyi] studied recently by NEWJEC Inc. of Japan, the other in Shan State [Tasang] studied by Lahmeyer International. EPDC, the Electric Power Development Corporation, 66% owned by the Japanese Ministry of Finance and controlled by the Agency of Natural Resources and Energy (an MITI affiliate) has – it seems – been commissioned to do the feasibility study for the Tasang dam. It’s understood that funds are being sought in Japan to do this at the present time, although there are a lot of misleading rumours about this.

 

Preliminary studies by Japan’s EPDC were completed for two other sites [WeiGyi and Dagwin] in 1992. Some other studies, reportedly part of a feasibility study, were talked about and said to have started in the Shan State north east of Homong around 1993 –94. However nothing seems to have come of this (never can really tell though...) There are also a few other sites that show up on one map or another, two farther up into the Shan State, and one just north of the confluence of the Pai River with the Salween. 

 

The studies that have been done to date do seem to fit into the plans of the ADB Project Profile A.5. The details are given below, taken from the report by Norconsult International which was commissioned by the ADB and called:

 

"PROMOTING SUBREGIONAL COOPERATION AMONG CAMBODIA, LAO PDR, MYANMAR, THAILAND, VIETNAM AND YUNNAN POVINCE OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA;

 

Subregional Energy Sector Study for Asian Development Bank;

Draft Report, June 1994)

 

1. Project Name:

 "Thanlwin Basin Hydropower Development Study in Myanmar and Thailand including Transmission Interconnection between the two countries".

 

2. Sector /Location:

Energy / Myanmar and Thailand

 

3. Rationale and Objectives:

To identify and study the hydropower resources of the mainstream and tributaries of the middle and lower reaches of the Thanlwin Basin suitable for for supply of energy to Thailand and Myanmar.

 

The Thanlwin River with it's tributaries has a hydropower potentional estimated to be more than 65 TWh (terawatt hours) within Thailand and Myanmar and is favourably located for the supply of energy to the power markets within Thailand and Myanmar.

 

4. Scope:

The main objective is to prepare a basin study at desk level to identify the hydropower potential and identify the most promising sites for hydropower projects. The study shall make recommendations on the priority of further planning and propose a sequence for the development of the Thanlwin's hydropower resources and related transmission interconnections. The environmental impact from the hydropower project should be integrated in the study.

 

5. Expected Impact / Benefit:

The project will identify and rank the most promising hydropower projects in the basin and study the interrelation among the projects and their suitability for serving the power markets in Thailand and Myanmar.

 

6. Estimated Project Costs:

To be clarified when formulating the T.O.R. (terms of reference) for the study.

 

7. Financing Arrangements:

Not arranged

(refer to the later documents entitled "A $15 Billion Wake-Up Call to Financiers", from ADB Review;  and "ADB Identifies 76 projects worth $15 Billion in Greater Mekong Subregion; Asian Development Bank; News Release No.6/95, 19 January 1995")

 

8. Implementation Arrangements:

The study is suitable to be carried out by an international consultant in cooperation with national agencies

 

9. Status:

T.O.R. to be worked out

 

10. Critical Success Factor:

Basic information on hydrology, topography and geology is scarce and the access to the potential dam sites may be difficult. Environmental and cultural impacts are uncertain. Coordination with subregional system studies must be ensured.

 

 

 

 

8. LETTER REGARDING EPDC FROM JAPANESE NGO

 

Subject: Re:Burmese project  (EPDC)

Date: Mon, 18 Jan 99 09:32:09 +0900

From:   XXXXX@iea.att.ne.jp>

 

Dear XXXX,

 

Looks like another extremely bad project is underway... slave labor type.. Check the URL http://www.epdc.co.jp/home_.htm The Electric Power Development Co. is one of the primary power plan builders. It's a public corporation and the top shareholder is the Ministry of Finance (66%). The activity is rather under rigid control of the Agency of Natural Resources

and Energy (MITI affiliate). Very active on building hydro and nuke as well. Let me know if you want further info.

 

Best,

XXXX

 

 

 

 

9. POWER BILL HIKE

Bangkok Post;  4th August 1999

 

Rangoon—Burma is reeling under a 1,000 percent power price rise imposed in recent months which has forced people back to coal stoves even as the ruling junta tries to modernise the country, residents said yesterday.

Residents are expressing horror at the soaring price of electricity, which has jumped from 2.5 Kyats (18 Baht) per unit to 25 Kyats (180 Baht) in the past two months. The price hike aims to encourage thrifty use of the crumbling electricity grid, which is plagued by daily blackouts affecting thousands of homes. The price rise has hit low-paid public servants the hardest. One public employee was presented with an electricity bill worth his entire annual salary of 12,000 Kyats (108,000 Baht). --AP

 

 

 

Please note:  Salween Watch does NOT endorse greenwashing by the World Bank, the United Nations University, the UNDP and other organisations that are involved in large dam and involuntary resettlement projects.  The following document appears very good - but conceals the reality that the concerns and interests of displaced and otherwise affected peoples are almost never honored in such project planning. A "radical break from the failures of the past" would be most welcome, but we must remain deeply suspicious of attempts to consume our energies in futile dialogue that will ultimately end in the undesirable and unsound projects going ahead anyway and causing great suffering for the people.

 

 

10. The World Water Vision

 

Date: Fri, 12 Nov 1999 15:45:22 +0100

  From: "Cele, Bongwie" <b.cele@unesco.org>

 

  Dear Colleagues;

 

Water is one of the most precious substances on Earth, however, it is often not treated that way. We know that the future will not look like the past with changes in growing populations, urbanization, income growth, and the associated demand for more food and water to grow it will put more pressure on our limited water supplies. The need for action is critical.

 

I work for the World Water Council on a project titled "A Long Term Vision for Water, Life and the Environment" or World Water Vision. The project is sponsored by the World Water Council, the World Bank and all the principal UN agencies involved with water including FAO, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, UNU, WMO, WHO, UNICEF and is guided by the World Commission on Water for the 21st Century, composed of many outstanding thinkers and opinion leaders and is chaired by Ismail Serageldin, Vice President of the World Bank.

 

It was set up to influence decision-makers to put water on the agenda as a key political issue at global as well as regional levels through a significant increase in public awareness of water issues.

 

The World Water Vision seeks to involve all stakeholders through extensive consultations.  Therefore, participation is the force driving the Vision exercise. The consultations are intended to give the largest possible number of individuals at the "grass-roots" level a chance to decide on the kind of future that they want for themselves and for future generations.

 

The overall project objectives are to develop a widely shared vision on the actions required to achieve a common set of water-related goals and to commit stakeholders to carry out these actions by

 

1) increasing awareness of water issues among the general population and decision-makers so as to foster the political will necessary to tackle water issues seriously;

 

2)  develop a water management vision for 2025 that is shared by water professionals, policy makers and civil society; and

 

3) provide suggestions for investment priorities, with concrete steps to turn a vision into action.

 

The World Water Vision will be presented in March 2000 at the 2nd World Water Forum and Ministerial Conference in The Hague, Netherlands.

 

A Vision is the future, as we want it to be, with the strategies of how to get there. It is a dream that we think is achievable and generally desirable. We believe that awareness starts at the grass-roots and most solutions will only be successful if all stakeholders have contributed to them. Therefore, your contribution to the establishment of the Vision for water will help to make it a Vision that reflects the views of all stakeholders.

 

I would like to request if you have a website that you provide a link to our website and send me an email so that we add yours, and if you also have a newsletter, we would appreciate if you run an article about this project.

 

This will help us reach and involve as many people as possible. Our website can be accessed at: http://watervision.org. The World Water Vision is giving you an opportunity to decide on the future that you want.

 

Let us join together to think boldly about solutions that will allow us to make a radical break from the failures of the past, to create a new Vision for Water, Life and the Environment in the 21st century and to act on that Vision for the sake of our children and Mother Earth herself. The stakes could not be higher.

 

You can contact me if you would like more information on how you and your organization might work with us towards our shared objectives.

 

  Sincerely,

 

  Ms Bongiwe Cele

  Network Officer

  World Water Vision

  c/o UNESCO

  1 rue Miollis

  Paris, 75015

  +33 (0) 1 45 68 40 47 (tel)

  +33 (0) 1 45 68 58 11 (fax)

  b.cele@unesco.org

  http://watervision.org

 

 

 

 

11. Junta Fortifying the Salween Dam Site

S.H.A.N.,   October 1999,  No: 10 - 6

 

 

According to sources close to the Shan States Army of Yawdserk, the Burma Army has been, for the past two months, building up their positions along the Salween River near the site which had undergone a five-month long feasibility study until the end of March.

 

Saengjuen Sarawin, S.H.A.N.'s principal reporter, who recently returned from his visit to the SSA Base, reports: "Units from 4 Infantry Battalions, 330, 332, 518 and 520, numbering 4-500, came from Mongpan (on the western bank) to keep vigilance on both sides of the river from Ta-sang? to Tasang".

 

Tasang is the ferry crossing between Mongpan Township on the western bank and Mongton Township on the eastern. A few kilometers north is the projected dam site where feasibility studies took place in late October last year by a Thai company.

 

In addition, there are 8 motorboats that patrols along the river, said the sources. "The aim looks to be two-fold", said one. "First, to prevent the Shan fighters from crossing back and forth along that stretch, and, second, to insure security for the dam site".

 

///END\\\

 

For further information, please contact S.H.A.N. at:

Shan Herald Agency for News.

P.O. Box. 15, Nonghoi P.O., 50007, Chiangmai, Thailand

Ph/Fax: (053) 807 121

e-mail: <shan@cm.ksc.co.th>

 

S.H.A.N. is a non-profit making, independent Shan media group. It is not

affiliated to any political or armed organization.