Inn Din power station
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The Inn Din (Anndin) power station is a proposed 1,280-megawatt (MW) power station by Toyo-Thai Group in Mon State, Myanmar.
The original proposal was for a power station in Yangon (Rangoon).
Contents
Location
The map below shows Ye (Yay) Township, the approximate location where the plant would be built.
Background
In 2011 a Pa’O Youth Organisation report stated the plant would be 1,080 MW, and that there are "plans to develop these plants, yet how the power will be used has not been disclosed."[1]
Toyo-Thai attempted to build the coal-fired power plant in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone near Yangon, but was not able to acquire land for the project from the Yangon divisional government.[2]
In April 2014 the Thai-based Toyo-Thai Group held a consultation meeting with local residents about the company's plans to build a 1,280 MW power plant in Inn Din village, Ye Township, at a cost of US$2.7 billion. If plans proceed, Toyo-Thai will sell electricity from the coal-fired plant to the Burmese government. The plant will be built on 500 acres of land. The coal will be imported from Australia, South Africa and Indonesia.[3]
In January 2015 residents of Mon State said they will not allow the proposed coal-fired power plant. They said the project would not benefit local communities, because most or all of the energy produced would be exported to neighboring Thailand.[4]
In April 2015 Toyo-Thai Corporation signed a memorandum of agreement with Myanmar to develop the 1280 MW power station, at a total investment of US$2.8 billion. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2016 and be completed in 4-6 years.[5][6]
After sustained public opposition, the project was temporarily suspended in January 2016. The government minister told Parliament the authorities had been told to discuss the implementation of the plant with residents. The deputy minister said the project should not be cancelled altogether, although the environmental and social impact assessments (EIA/SIA) would be postponed and only start if residents agreed to the project.[7]
A May 2017 article said locals fear the plant is only suspended and not terminated. They have gone to the Japanese Embassy in Rangoon to file a petition against the project, and filed a petition with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which are providing loans to Toyo-Thai Co. They also turned down regional development incentives offered by Toyo-Thai in connection with the project, choosing instead to concrete the main village road with their own money.[8]
In July 2017 it was reported that project sponsor TTCL Public Company Limited (Toyo-Thai) planned to break ground on the project by the end of the year. In response, 2,000 protestors from Myoma Bridge to the Mon State government offices to protest the project.[9]
Due to public opposition, the project was shelved and proposed for Hpa-an (Pa-an) township, the Hpa-an power station.[10]
Public opposition
In May 2015 an estimated 5000 people from villages across Ye Township gathered in Inn Din village to protest the Union government’s plan to build the coal-fired power plant in Mon State. Locals say the project proponents have been neither transparent nor honest. In one meeting, villagers were told that Toyo-Thai would provide a one-time payment of US$1.5 million as part of its corporate social responsibility program in order to promote development in the Inn Din village tract. Villagers have conducted their own economic survey of the area and claimed the area earns US$5.8 million per annum from farming and fishing, which they say renders the Toyo-Thai proposal well below the coal plant’s potential impact on local agriculture. The Human Rights Foundation of Mon Land and the Mon Youth Forum have also condemned the project. A petition against the coal plant has been sent to the Mon State government and the Myanmar Human Rights Commission.[11]
On June 13, 2015, police arrested 26 opponents of the project, including the Hnit-Kayot Village Chairman. As news of the arrests spread, a convoy of 350 project opponents went to the police station, with many volunteering to also be arrested for questioning.[12]
In December 2015 representatives from communities where coal plants are proposed, including Andin, traveled to Japan to deliver a letter signed by 72 civil society organizations asking that JBIC and JICA reject support for coal in Myanmar.[13]
In March 2016, Mon State civil society organizations demanded the incoming National League for Democracy government suspend the project, saying it would displace residents across 370 acres of land and could adversely affect seven neighboring villages and 3,858 acres of farmland.[14]
In September 2016, Mon State residents presented complaints against the project to the Mon State government. “We reported suggestions about the coal-fired power plant project with the aim to inform government. Mon residents worry about the project. If the government has the same wish as the residents, it will cancel the construction of the coal-fired power plant. Moreover, we would like to urge the government to stop building coal-fired power plants anywhere in the country,” said Thiri Oo from the Andin Youth Forum. According to Andin village resident Aung Thein, the chief minister pledged that he would not implement the project during his term in office.[15]
Project Details
- Sponsor: TTCL Public Company Limited
- Parent company: Italian-Thai Development and Toyo Engineering
- Developer:
- Location: Inn Din (Anndin) village, Ye Township, Mon State, Myanmar
- Coordinates: 15.3, 97.966667 (approximate)
- Status: Shelved
- Capacity: 1,280 MW (Units 1-2: 640 MW)
- Type: Ultra-supercritical
- Start date: 2020-2022
- Coal Type:
- Coal Source:
- Source of financing:
Resources and articles
References
- ↑ Pa’O Youth Organisation, Poison Clouds: Lessons from Burma’s largest coal project at Tigyit, Pa’O Youth Organisation, January 2011. (Pdf)
- ↑ "Thai company asks Burma's help to build coal power plant in Mon State," Power Guru, March 28, 2014
- ↑ "Plans for Coal-Fired Power Plant Face Opposition in Mon State," The Irrawaddy, Apr 28, 2014.
- ↑ " Mon Rebels Prohibit Controversial Coal Plant," Bru Direct, 29 January 2015
- ↑ "Toyo-Thai signs MOU to build two power plants in Myanmar," Deal Street Asia, Apr 12, 2015
- ↑ "Myanmar's Ministry of Electric Power cancels the planned 279-meggawatt-capacity coal-fired power plant in Htantabin township, Yangon Region ," Thai Biz Myanmar, Jul 13, 2015
- ↑ "Gov’t temporarily suspends Mon coal-fired power plant," Mizzima, 2 January 2016
- ↑ "A Community Lives in Fear of Coal," The Irrawaddy, May 9, 2017
- ↑ "Mon State residents to protest coal plants," BNI, July 06, 2017
- ↑ "Inn Din (Andin) Coal power plant cancelled following protests, Mon State, Myanmar," EJ Atlas, updated 2018-06-28
- ↑ "Mass Protest Held Against Mon State Coal Plant Proposal," The Irrawaddy, May 5, 2015
- ↑ "Locals show support for arrested power station protesters," Burma News International, June 30, 2015
- ↑ "Japan Banks Urged to Stop Supporting Coal-Fired Power Stations," IMNA, December 8, 2015
- ↑ "Mon Groups Demand Toyo-Thai Coal Plant Suspension," The Irrawaddy, Mar 10, 2016
- ↑ "Mon call on state govt to cancel power plant project," Eleven, 9/28/2016
