Sustainable energy in Myanmar: signing of a loan for the rehabilitation of 5 hydropower plants
The Ministry of Planning, Finance and Industry, the French Development Agency (AFD) and French Ambassador to Myanmar signed an agreement on May 15th for a EUR 35.7M loan aiming at rehabilitating five hydropower plants. This rehabilitation will increase the energy efficiency of the power plants as well as their electricity production, while extending their lifespan and improving working conditions for employees.
Myanmar currently relies largely on hydropower electricity, which represents more than half of the global production. While the Government of Myanmar has set up an ambitious program to raise its power generation capacity in order to contribute to the economic development of the country, it is necessary to ensure the sustainability of existing renewable energy infrastructure by improving its efficiency.
The project’s main objective is to finance the rehabilitation of the electromechanical equipment of five hydropower plants (Mone, Yenwe, Zangtu, Kinda and Thapinseik). It is expected to increase the overall power generation capacity of the five power plants by 13%. It will contribute to increasing the share of low-carbon, dispatchable energy in Myanmar’s energy mix. It will also reduce output losses caused by technical incidents and thereby contribute to extending the lifespan of the power plants.
Moreover, additional dam safety studies, financed with a EUR 1M French Government grant provided by AFD, have just been finalized. The overall safety of the infrastructure and downstream population is expected to be improved with the establishment of a safety diagnosis for three dams, feeding the hydroelectric facilities of Mone, Yenwe and Zangtu, located near seismic faults.
