The Irrawaddy
Weekly Business Roundup (September 4, 2010)

Energy starved Burma has reportedly agreed to build two hydroelectric dams in southwestern Arakan State to supply Bangladesh with electricity.

The projects at Michuang and Lemro will have power generating capacities of 575 megawatts, according to the Financial Express newspaper in Dhaka quoting Bangladeshi energy ministry officials.

That is about one third of Burma’s current national electricity generating capacity.

The paper said an agreement was reached during a recent visit to Burma by a “high-powered Bangladesh delegation.”

Bangladesh is suffering an acute electricity shortage causing frequent blackouts even in the capital that have shut down factories. Factory workers rioted in Dhaka recently over pay losses due to factory stoppages.

The dams will be built by unnamed Chinese firms with the Shwe Taung Development Company as the Burmese partner.

No timetable for the hydro projects has been disclosed, nor how they will be financed.

Earlier efforts by Bangladesh to build hydroelectric dams in Arakan, close to the border at Cox’s Bazar, have come to nothing.

A Burmese negotiating team will visit Bangladesh in the near future to finalize the power purchasing terms, said the Financial Express.