Myanmar’s new military-backed government plans to revive the controversial China-backed Myitsone Dam project and is expected to complete it within about eight years, according to a Reuters report.
The report cited two sources with knowledge of recent comments by Khet Htein Nan, the chief minister of Kachin state, where the $3.6 billion dam is planned to be built.
Htet Paing Htoo, a member of the Kachin state parliament, told Reuters that work on the project, suspended in 2011 due to widespread public opposition, would “start shortly”.
“An official announcement will be made,” he told the news agency. “The president himself has already said he’s going to restart.”
Since January, Khet Htein Nan, who previously opposed the dam, has led a series of public meetings across Kachin State, including in the state capital, Myitkyina, urging residents to support the project.
At one such meeting in Mohnyin Municipality on June 23, the Kachin News Group reported, the chief minister admitted that he regretted opposing the Myitsone Dam project. He also said the military-backed government was determined to continue construction.
“As for the Myitsone project, it could take around 10 years, but since a lot of the preparatory work has already been done before, I think we can complete it in a little over eight years,” he was quoted as saying.
He also accompanied Min Aung Hlaing during the latter’s recent state visit to China, where the resumption of the dam project was reportedly discussed.
The Myitsone Dam, which was first approved by a previous junta in 2006, is planned to be built at the confluence of the Mali and N’Mai rivers, which join to form the Irrawaddy River. At the time, the project was controversial and widely contested, both because of its likely environmental and social impacts, and because of reports that 90 percent of the electricity produced by the dam would be exported to China.
In 2011, President Then Sein, who led a military-backed government, announced the suspension of construction of the dam, citing the “wishes of the people.” The project’s suspension helped catalyze a series of then-unthinkable economic and political reforms that ushered in a new, more open era for Myanmar before ending with the 2021 coup.
China, angered by the suspension of the project in 2011, has since insisted on its resumption – and the junta’s growing reliance on China, particularly to roll back the advances of ethnic armies along the China-Myanmar border, has forced it to take Chinese concerns seriously.
In April 2024, the military junta announced the formation of a new management team for the Myitsone project. The team was tasked with conducting research, considering technical solutions and managing public relations for the project in collaboration with the dam’s Chinese developer, SPIC Yunnan International Power Investment Company.
Resumption of the project was also discussed during Min Aung Hlaing’s recent visit to China, presidential spokesperson Khaing Khaing Soe said earlier this week. According to the spokesperson, the former general, who had criticized previous governments for suspending the project, told cabinet meetings that if the project had been implemented earlier, Myanmar would already have nationwide electricity coverage.
Khaing Khaing Soe acknowledged public concerns about the project, saying Min Aung Hlaing has asked his administration to seek public consent to continue with the project. “We analyze these issues in detail, assessing the extent of benefits versus negative impacts, in order to find a balance,” she told reporters.
It remains to be seen whether the project will continue as planned. As The Irrawaddy notes, “no official details have been released on the revised contract, ownership rights or operational framework.” The extent of the government’s reliance on China, which has intervened more actively in Myanmar since 2023, may suggest that its influence is limited. Indeed, resuming the project may be the price to pay to keep relations with Beijing on a productive path.
Any attempt to restart the Myitsone project could also be complicated by the conflict in northern Myanmar. The Kachin Independence Army (KIA), which has made significant territorial gains in Kachin State since the coup, continues to oppose the project. Even if the KIA does not occupy the area around the Myitsone confluence, the possibility of renewed fighting in the surrounding area could once again put an end to the project.