Myanmar to Double Electricity Capacity by 2021 to Fill Power Shortages
Myanmar to Double Electricity Capacity by 2021 to Fill Power Shortages
The Irrawaddy, 01 Feb 2018
URL: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/asia/myanmar-double-electricity-capacity-2021-fill-power-shortages.html
YANGON — Myanmar is planning to double its electric power capacity by 2021 by building natural gas-fired power plants, two senior officials told Reuters on Wednesday, in an ambitious move to tackle chronic power shortages in the energy-starved country.
With only one-third of the country’s 60 million people connected to the electrical grid and cities experiencing blackouts, Myanmar needs to boost its power supply to attract much-needed foreign investment.
Four gas-fired power plants would be built by 2021 at a total cost of $5.16 billion in several parts of Myanmar, said two officials from Myanmar’s Ministry of Electricity and Energy.
They said the plants will raise generation capacity by 3,100 megawatts (MW) and would double the current capacity of around 3,000 MW.
“We will need another 3,000 megawatts by 2021. That’s why we speed up the process in order to quickly meet the demand,” said Soe Myint, deputy permanent secretary at the energy ministry.
Myanmar’s government has signed agreements to “start preliminary engineering work,” such as environmental assessments, with six companies, said Zaw Win Naing, assistant secretary at the ministry.
Myanmar aims to increase its power generation more than fourfold by 2030 to meet demand, though that could be difficult to achieve.
With only one-third of the country’s 60 million people connected to the electrical grid and cities experiencing blackouts, Myanmar needs to boost its power supply to attract much-needed foreign investment.
Four gas-fired power plants would be built by 2021 at a total cost of $5.16 billion in several parts of Myanmar, said two officials from Myanmar’s Ministry of Electricity and Energy.
They said the plants will raise generation capacity by 3,100 megawatts (MW) and would double the current capacity of around 3,000 MW.
“We will need another 3,000 megawatts by 2021. That’s why we speed up the process in order to quickly meet the demand,” said Soe Myint, deputy permanent secretary at the energy ministry.
Myanmar’s government has signed agreements to “start preliminary engineering work,” such as environmental assessments, with six companies, said Zaw Win Naing, assistant secretary at the ministry.
Myanmar aims to increase its power generation more than fourfold by 2030 to meet demand, though that could be difficult to achieve.