Irrawaddy-Jan 25
Myanmar’s military regime is not pushing enough or not pushing at all the Chinese firms who are contracted to start solar power production, despite the fact that they are several months behind schedule, said critics. In May 2020, the now-ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) government invited bids for the construction of 29 ground-mounted solar projects capable of generating a total of 1 gigawatt of power under a 20-year build, operate and own contract. The minimum investment was set at US$20 million (25.8 billion kyats) per site, with each project expected to generate 30 to 40 megawatts of electricity. Chinese companies and their consortia won the bids to build 28 out of 29 solar power plants, according to the results released by the Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MOEE) in September 2020. The companies were set to start operations within six months under the agreements. However, the Myanmar military seized power from the NLD government in a February coup last year while the bidders were in the final phase to sign power purchase agreements with the MOEE. The Chinese firms have since postponed signing the power purchase agreements, and only one agreement has so far been signed, according to MOEE sources. The sources suggested that the Chinese firms might have concerns because some of the proposed solar power sites are in Sagaing and Magwe regions, where clashes between junta troops and resistance groups are intensifying, while others are located in Naypyitaw, Yangon, Mandalay and Bago regions, where there have been attacks on military regime targets. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/chinese-firms-stalling-on-myanmar-solar-power-projects.html
