On rising demand for energy and the importance of international investment How has the pandemic impacted plans for investment in the power sector? U ZAW NAING THEIN: The pandemic has had a substantial impact on the global energy sector, including that of Myanmar. However, since only around 55% of the population currently has access to electricity, the pandemic has not affected our business…
On investing in energy transmission and distribution How can official development assistance (ODA) and soft financing help alleviate funding shortfalls for energy projects? DAW EI PHYUSIN HTAY: We have seen success with smaller energy projects that provide around 5-10 MW of power for areas that are not connected to the grid, as they can be completed quickly and require lower amounts of financing.…
The 6th Edition of POWEREX MYANMAR 2020 and ELECTRIC EXPO MYANMAR 2020 are the only specialized Power, Power Generation and Power Transmission Equipment, Technologies & Supplies in Myanmar that brings together an international congregation of Power and Electric related companies and also its supporting industries gathered in Yangon to showcase the latest developments in the power industry. Builders…
Although Myanmar’s installed generation capacity is 5 GW, actual generation capacity sits between 2.9-3.1 GW. With the Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MoEE) predicting that daily demand will increase by another 1.5 GW over the next few years, the authorities are looking at avenues to boost production levels. The World Bank expects demand to be even higher, forecasting an average annual…
Despite being Myanmar’s most valuable export commodity, there is still an imbalance in the supply and use of gas. The country produces 1.8bn standard cu feet (scf) of natural gas per day, but consumes just 100m scf per day. In addition, there is an extensive network of natural gas pipelines that run through most of the energy demand hubs in the country. Nonetheless, Myanmar still imports…
Gemstone mining in Myanmar is separate from mineral mining, both institutionally and legislatively. There is no connection between the gemstone permit system and the general mining permit system. Unlike anywhere else in the world, the two are independent processes. There is also an official distinction between jade and gems, wherein “gems” refers to all gemstones other than jade. Legal…
In addition to being crucial to economic activity, Myanmar’s energy and power sector continues to be one of the main drivers of foreign investment as the country looks to develop its national electricity grid. As of October 2019 the amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) approved by the government in the energy sector for that year stood at $43.6bn, representing just over of half of total…
Endowed with rich deposits of jade, ruby, copper, lead, zinc, tin, tungsten, silver, gold, antimony, nickel and barite, as well as a long history of mining that dates back to the 15th century, Myanmar’s mining sector has significant potential. Official statistics indicate that there are 291 known lead-zinc deposits, with a combined potential of 44m tonnes. More than 480 known deposits of…
Interview:Rorce Au-Yeung How would you describe the evolution of the power tendering process in Myanmar? RORCE AU-YEUNG: Since 2014 there have been very encouraging developments in the legal and regulatory framework for energy tenders. Although Myanmar is not a market defined by certainty, there are well-established systems to operate within. Contracts can take some time to be fully negotiated,…
Interview:Ken Tun How do you foresee the evolution of the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) retail market? KEN TUN: As we are beginning from such a low starting point, growth of the LPG market will be very strong. For instance, Thailand’s LPG consumption is 40 times that of Myanmar. The relevance of LPG to the market is also high. Biomass has been used extensively for fuel, which has contributed…
