Myanmar’s new military-backed government plans to revive the controversial China-backed Myitsone dam project and is expecting to complete it within roughly eight years, according to a report by Reuters.
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 slated to be built.
Htet Paing Htoo, a member of the Kachin State parliament, told Reuters that work on the project, which was suspended in 2011 due to widespread public opposition, would “begin shortly.”
“An official announcement will be released,” he told the news agency. “The president himself has already stated that it will be restarted.”
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 locals to support the project.
At one such meeting in Mohnyin township on June 23, the Kachin News Group reported, the chief minister admitted that he regrets opposing the Myitsone Dam project. He also declared that the military-backed government is determined to press forward with construction.
“As for the Myitsone project, it could take about 10 years to complete, but since a lot of the groundwork was already done before, I believe we can finish it in just over eight years,” he was quoted as saying.
He also accompanied Min Aung Hlaing on the latter’s recent state visit to China, where the resumption of the dam project was reportedly discussed.
The Myitsone dam, which was first agreed on by a previous junta in 2006, is set to be built at the confluence of the Mali and N’Mai rivers, which come together to form the Irrawaddy River. At the time, the project was controversial and widely opposed, both because of the likely environmental and social impacts, and because of reports that 90 percent of the electricity generated by the dam would be exported to China.
In 2011, President Then Sein, who headed a military-backed government, announced the suspension of the dam’s construction, citing the “wishes of the people.” The suspension of the project helped catalyze a series of then-unthinkable economic and political reforms, which initiated a new and more open era for Myanmar before being terminated by the coup d’etat of 2021.
China, which was angered by the project’s suspension in 2011, has since pushed for its resumption – and the junta’s increasing reliance on China, particularly in reversing gains by ethnic armies along the Myanmar-China border, has forced it to take Chinese concerns seriously.
In April 2024, the military junta announced the formation of a new leadership team for the Myitsone project. The team was tasked with conducting research, considering technical solutions, and handling public relations for the project in collaboration with the dam’s Chinese developer, the SPIC Yunnan International Power Investment Company.
The 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 criticized previous governments for suspending the project, has told cabinet meetings that if the project had been implemented earlier, Myanmar would already enjoy nationwide electricity coverage.
Khaing Khaing Soe acknowledged the public concerns about the project, saying that Min Aung Hlaing has instructed his administration to seek public consent to proceed with the project. “We are analyzing these matters in detail, evaluating the extent of the benefits versus the negative impacts, to strike a balance,” she told reporters.
Whether the project will end up going ahead as planned remains unclear. 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 it has limited leverage. Indeed, resuming the project is perhaps the price it needs to pay for keeping relations with Beijing on a productive track.
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 advances in Kachin State since the coup, continues to oppose the project. While the KIA does not occupy the area around the Myitsone confluence, the possibility of resumed fighting in the vicinity could bring the project to a halt once again.
