Mai Khot power station
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The Mai Khot power station, which is also referred to as Mong Kok, is a proposed 405-megawatt (MW) power station in Shan, Myanmar.
Contents
Location
The map below shows Shan, the approximate location where the plant would be built, about 40 kms north of Thailand’s Chiang Rai border.
Background
The project was proposed as a joint operation between the Italian-Thai Company and Thailand’s Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT). EGAT expects the plant to generate up to 15,000 MW electricity power over the next 20 years. The agreement with the Burmese government must be renewed every five years; the total project tenure is 25 years. In 2011 it was reported that Burma would begin exporting and selling the energy to the Chiang Rai region of northern Thailand in early 2016, according to officials.[1][2]
The project was planned for operation in 2017, with 369 of the 405 MW going to Thailand.[3]
In 2014 it was reported that Italian-Thai was interested in the power station but had halted its role in it.[4]
In its 2015 Annual Report, Italian-Thai Company said it was debating its investment in the power station.[5] The project is not mentioned in the company's 2016 Annual Report,[6] and appears abandoned.
Coal mine
EGAT and the Burmese government signed an agreement to produce 1.5 million tons of coal annually for 10 years and to build a 405 MW thermal power station of which 369 MW will be sold to Thailand. The coal to be used in the power units will be produced by the Mae Mao coalmine and imported coal.
About 20 villages south of Mogok were forcibly relocated in March 2011 for the plans. The military regime ordered the villagers to sell their farmland at a set price of 20,000 kyat (US$ 25) per acre to the company. Local residents said the authorities violated the human rights of local villagers.[1]
The mine is expected to be operational in 2017.[7]
Citizen action
In July 2011, environment groups and local villagers in Burma and Thailand launched a protest against the Mong Koke coal-mining project. The protesters said the project would include about 200 trucks that will transport coal daily through the area causing noise and coal dust pollution. The report compiled by the Mong Koke activist group said Burmese military units persecuted and tortured local villagers in 2007 when it accused them of giving support to the Shan State Army – South (SSA-S). The report said that about 1,000 Shan, Akha and Lahu villagers fled to Thailand in fear of persecution.
Residents in northern Thailand also worry that pollution will affect the Koke River. The Koke River is a main waterway for people in northern Thailand and is a popular tourist attraction. The power station is projected to use water from the Koke River and wastewater from the power station will be put into the river again. The report said the project would emit many chemicals and destroy wildlife and plants in the region.
Thai social groups have sent letters and expressed their opposition to the project to the Thai Human Right Commission, the Thai Lawyers Council and the Chiang Rai authorities since 2009.[1]
Project Details of power station
- Sponsor: Italian-Thai Company, Thailand’s Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Parent company:
- Developer:
- Location: Shan, Myanmar
- Coordinates: 21.5, 98 (approximate)
- Status: Cancelled
- Capacity: 405 MW
- Type:
- Start date:
- Coal Type:
- Coal Source: Mai Khot mine
- Source of financing:
Resources and articles
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Local people protest coal mining in eastern Shan State" Mizzima, July 25, 2011.
- ↑ Pa’O Youth Organisation, Poison Clouds: Lessons from Burma’s largest coal project at Tigyit, Pa’O Youth Organisation, January 2011. (Pdf)
- ↑ "Changing priorities: Coal is set to take a greater share of the country’s energy mix," Oxford Business Group, Oct. 17, 2014
- ↑ "Collaborative Research Between ERI/PAR," The Sukosol Bangkok, Apr 4, 2014
- ↑ "Annual report," Italian-Thai Company, March 2015
- ↑ ""Annual report," Italian-Thai Company, Feb 2017
- ↑ "Energy-sector delegation to visit Myanmar," The Nation, June 2, 2012.
