Myanmar’s Mee Laung Gyaing LNG project to commence construction soon
Construction of a power generation project in Mee Laung Gyaing, Ayeyarwady Region will take place after a power purchase agreement is signed within the first three months of the year.
Zhefu Holding Group of China and local firm Supreme Trading Co will invest US$2.57 billion to build the plant. It will be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) and produce up to 1390 megawatts of energy when it is complete.
The project will include berths for gas carriers to dock at the Mee Laung Gyaing area, which is 40 miles to the north of Chaung Tha beach. It will be transferred back to the government under a 30-year build, operate and transfer system.
Negotiations are concluding and the PPA is expected to be signed during the first quarter of 2020, said U Htoo Htoo Aung, deputy CEO of Supreme Trading Co.
Although the shareholding structure is not fixed, Zhefu Holding Group will be the main shareholder. Supreme Trading Co will own one-fifth of the shares.
Feasibility studies are currently taking place at Mee Laung Gyaing, including the necessary environment and social impact assessments, while soil and water conditions are being tested near the area where the jetty will be constructed. Local farmers have also been compensated last October, U Htoo Htoo Aung said.
The project is also among the biggest electricity projects in the country and will be able to provide enough energy to power industrial zones, hotels, beaches and cities in Ayeyarwady as well as fulfill Yangon’s power demand.
Around 35 percent of the power produced at Mee Laung Gyaing is earmarked for distribution in Ayeyarwady Region, while the remaining energy generated will be transferred to Yangon via the national grid. Supreme Trading Co will build the power lines needed to distribute the energy.
The entire project is expected to take four years to complete. It will be able to start producing 500 MW by the end of 2022 and 900 MW a year or two later.
The LNG power plant will operate with three 500 MW gas turbines and equipment from the US or Europe will be used to achieve the highest efficiency, said U Htoo Htoo Aung.
Under the PPA, the price is fixed for power plant operations and for imported LNG. Transactions would be settled according to the international LNG price and this project will have the lowest price among all other gas power plants, he said.LNG fuel resources will be contracted yearly and will be imported from the cheapest sources.
The Mee Laung Gyaing project is one of three LNG projects announced by the government in 2018. The Ministry of Electricity and Energy has committed to importing LNG to help meet the growing energy demands of the country.
The other two projects are located in Kanbauk in the Tanintharyi and Ahlone in Yangon. The government is hoping that half of these projects will be operational by mid-2020. The three power plants are expected to raise Myanmar’s electricity generation capacity by 3,100 MW, doubling the power generation capacity in Myanmar to 6000MW. – Translated
Source: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/mee-laung-gyaing-lng-project-commence-construction-soon.html
