The Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MOEE) last week issued a Notice to Proceed for the Shweli-3 hydropower project on the Shweli River, near Moemeik town in northern Shan State.

The notice was signed between the MOEE and officials from France-based Électricité de France S.A (EDF), Marubeni Corporation and Myanmar Ayeyar Hinthar Company. 

The development signifies that the government is prepared to allow the private sector to participate in the business of generating electricity, said U Win Khaing, Union Minister of the MOEE. 

Negotiations will still have to be carried out to acquire approvals from the respective government organisations.

The energy project was given the green light in accordance with the Paris Agreement and is necessary to promote cooperation between the government and foreign investors, Win Khaing added.

The Paris Agreement is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, dealing with greenhouse-gas-emissions mitigation, adaptation, and finance starting in the year 2020.

“All parties involved in developing the project should follow and respect the local traditions and culture as well as abide by the law. The dam should also be constructed in phases on Shweli River to effectively utilise and conserve the country’s natural resources,” he said. 

The Shweli-3 project is also part of an important strategy to bring electricity to the rural areas of the country and it will certainly help to improve social welfare and economic development, U Win Khaing said.

The Shweli-3 will have the capacity to produce 671 megawatts of power, which is enough hydropower to supply electricity to around 60,000 households.

It will join the Shweli-1 project, which generates 600MW of power. Another project, the 520MW Shweli-2, is also being planned for the future.

The three hydropower projects on Shweli River will generate 1,791 MW of energy in total, supplying a portion of the 8,000MW-10,000MW of energy needed in Myanmar by 2025-26.