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| Chief Minister U Maung Maung Own delivers speech regarding the plant. |
The power plant will cooperatively be built by Daewoo International Corporation and MCM Energy Company Limited. The officials of the related companies explained local people on 6 May to their plan by a ceremony. Chief Minister of Arakan State Government U Maung Maung Own also attended the event to deliver speech regarding the plant.
“The plan will not be carried out if the local people against it. Any plans will not be done without local people decision. The people have to decide whether to accept it or not depend on if it is beneficial to them” said chief minister.
Investment for the plan will be about 2.5 billion US dollars and cooperatively work under ministry of electricity, Daewoo International Corporation and MCM Energy Company Limited.
The factory will able to be produce 660 Megawatt in the first step and another 660 Megawatt in the second step and all together will be 1320 Megawatt after the factory is implemented. And 600 to 1000 acre of land will be needed for the project.
MCM Energy Company Limited project manager U Tin Soe explained in the ceremony that the plan will help Arakan State to fully use electricity and the left will be portion to fill up electricity for the whole Myanmar.
More than that high technology will help not to affect environment and will not endanger the health of local people, he said.
“In Arakan State, only cities can receive electricity, most of the villages do not receive yet. We would like even villages can receive it. The fully usage of electricity will help development in the education, health and social sectors” U Tin Soe said.
However local people discussed against the plan and it is not needed to build coal electricity factory in Arakan State.
“The gas exploration from Kyauk Phyu will able to be used for the whole country. They do not use gas, but coal instead. We face problem. We request government to stand from Arakan people side” said Nay Oo Htin Lin a local activist.
“There are surplus amount of gas in Arakan State. Do we need coal electricity factory? In other countries, they are planning to reduce coal electricity factory, but they are trying to use it in Kyauk Phy is very general words. We do not need to use it if I have to explore my view” U Tun Kyi, the secretary of Association for Rural Development in Kyauk Phyu said.
The raw coal which will be used for the factory will be imported from Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia and other countries. The Allay Dwin village in Kyauk Phyu Township where the factory will be built located in the deep sea area and the big ships will be able to shipment in and out, therefore they choose the area.
The factory which will use clean coal will be built by using high technology and it will only affect very least, explained by officials of the companies.
Leaders of local Kyauk Phyu, government officials, civil society organizations and villagers of Allay Dwin village, all together 422 people attended the ceremony and finished at around 6 PM.
