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SALWEEN WATCH HOTMAIL-OUT Thanlwin Basin Hydropower Development Study in Myanmar and Thailand including Transmission Interconnection between the two countries". 2. Sector /Location: Energy / Myanmar and Thailand 3. Rationale and Objectives: To identify and study the hydropower resources of the mainstream and tributaries of the middle and lower reaches of the Thanlwin Basin suitable for for supply of energy to Thailand and Myanmar. The Thanlwin River with it's tributaries has a hydropower potentional estimated to be more than 65 TWh (terawatt hours) within Thailand and Myanmar and is favourably located for the supply of energy to the power markets within Thailand and Myanmar.
The main objective is to prepare a basin study at desk level to identify the hydropower potential and identify the most promising sites for hydropower projects. The study shall make recommendations on the priority of further planning and propose a sequence for the development of the Thanlwin's hydropower resources and related transmission interconnections. The environmental impact from the hydropower project should be integrated in the study.
The project will identify and rank the most promising hydropower projects in the basin and study the interrelation among the projects and their suitability for serving the power markets in Thailand and Myanmar.
To be clarified when formulating the T.O.R. (terms of reference) for the study.
Not arranged (refer to the later documents entitled "A $15 Billion Wake-Up Call to Financiers", from ADB Review; and "ADB Identifies 76 projects worth $15 Billion in Greater Mekong Subregion; Asian Development Bank; News Release No.6/95, 19 January 1995")
The study is suitable to be carried out by an international consultant in cooperation with national agencies
Basic information on hydrology, topography and geology is scarce and the access to the potential dam sites may be difficult. Environmental and cultural impacts are uncertain. Coordination with subregional system studies must be ensured.
Looks like another extremely bad project is underway... slave labor type..
Check the URL http://www.epdc.co.jp/home_.htm The Electric Power Development
Co. is one of the primary power plan builders. It's a public corporation
and the top shareholder is the Ministry of Finance (66%). The activity
is rather under rigid control of the Agency of Natural Resources Best,
Rangoon—Burma is reeling under a 1,000 percent power price rise imposed in recent months which has forced people back to coal stoves even as the ruling junta tries to modernise the country, residents said yesterday. Residents are expressing horror at the soaring price of electricity, which has jumped from 2.5 Kyats (18 Baht) per unit to 25 Kyats (180 Baht) in the past two months. The price hike aims to encourage thrifty use of the crumbling electricity grid, which is plagued by daily blackouts affecting thousands of homes. The price rise has hit low-paid public servants the hardest. One public employee was presented with an electricity bill worth his entire annual salary of 12,000 Kyats (108,000 Baht). --AP Please note: Salween Watch does NOT endorse greenwashing by the World Bank, the United Nations University, the UNDP and other organisations that are involved in large dam and involuntary resettlement projects. The following document appears very good - but conceals the reality that the concerns and interests of displaced and otherwise affected peoples are almost never honored in such project planning. A "radical break from the failures of the past" would be most welcome, but we must remain deeply suspicious of attempts to consume our energies in futile dialogue that will ultimately end in the undesirable and unsound projects going ahead anyway and causing great suffering for the people.
Water is one of the most precious substances on Earth, however, it is often not treated that way. We know that the future will not look like the past with changes in growing populations, urbanization, income growth, and the associated demand for more food and water to grow it will put more pressure on our limited water supplies. The need for action is critical. I work for the World Water Council on a project titled "A Long Term Vision for Water, Life and the Environment" or World Water Vision. The project is sponsored by the World Water Council, the World Bank and all the principal UN agencies involved with water including FAO, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, UNU, WMO, WHO, UNICEF and is guided by the World Commission on Water for the 21st Century, composed of many outstanding thinkers and opinion leaders and is chaired by Ismail Serageldin, Vice President of the World Bank. It was set up to influence decision-makers to put water on the agenda as a key political issue at global as well as regional levels through a significant increase in public awareness of water issues. The World Water Vision seeks to involve all stakeholders through extensive consultations. Therefore, participation is the force driving the Vision exercise. The consultations are intended to give the largest possible number of individuals at the "grass-roots" level a chance to decide on the kind of future that they want for themselves and for future generations. The overall project objectives are to develop a widely shared vision on the actions required to achieve a common set of water-related goals and to commit stakeholders to carry out these actions by 1) increasing awareness of water issues among the general population and decision-makers so as to foster the political will necessary to tackle water issues seriously; 2) develop a water management vision for 2025 that is shared by water professionals, policy makers and civil society; and 3) provide suggestions for investment priorities, with concrete steps to turn a vision into action. The World Water Vision will be presented in March 2000 at the 2nd World Water Forum and Ministerial Conference in The Hague, Netherlands. A Vision is the future, as we want it to be, with the strategies of how to get there. It is a dream that we think is achievable and generally desirable. We believe that awareness starts at the grass-roots and most solutions will only be successful if all stakeholders have contributed to them. Therefore, your contribution to the establishment of the Vision for water will help to make it a Vision that reflects the views of all stakeholders. I would like to request if you have a website that you provide a link to our website and send me an email so that we add yours, and if you also have a newsletter, we would appreciate if you run an article about this project. This will help us reach and involve as many people as possible. Our website can be accessed at: http://watervision.org. The World Water Vision is giving you an opportunity to decide on the future that you want. Let us join together to think boldly about solutions that will allow us to make a radical break from the failures of the past, to create a new Vision for Water, Life and the Environment in the 21st century and to act on that Vision for the sake of our children and Mother Earth herself. The stakes could not be higher. You can contact me if you would like more information on how you and your organization might work with us towards our shared objectives. Sincerely, Ms Bongiwe Cele
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