power import from Myanmar

Uncertainty over study team�s visit

Uncertainty prevails over the visit of the technical committee of the energy ministry of the Myanmar government, which is supposed to assess the feasibility of importing electricity from Bangladesh, due to dillydallying by officials of the ministry concerned. Sources in the ministry of power, energy and mineral resources said the technical team from Myanmar was first supposed to visit Bangladesh on May 31 and then later on July 31. But as the ministry has failed to send some required technical papers to Myanmar, the team hasn’t arrived.
The technical committee of the Myanmar government was supposed to assess the feasibility of importing electricity through the Moheshkhali hub in exchange of gas from Myanmar's Rakhaine state, which is adjacent to Bangladesh.
Abu Bakar Siddique, secretary of the Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD), said the EMRD has completed the paperwork sought by the Myanmar government. “There was some delay as the ministry didn’t get the necessary data from the state-owned Petrobangla on time. We are hopeful that the technical committee from the Myanmar government will pay a visit to Bangladesh very soon”, he added.   Siddique said Bangladesh had an opportunity to import gas from Myanmar way back in 2005-2006. But it did not happen due to the indecision of the then government. Myanmar had ultimately given gas to China, he added.
Energy advisor Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury visited Myanmar with a five-member team in February this year. The team held extensive meetings with government leaders, including Myanmar vice-president, foreign minister, power minister and energy minister. There, Bangladesh also made a formal proposal to import gas through pipeline, take part in joint investment for power generation and purchase 500 megawatt of hydropower from Chin or Rakhine provinces of Myanmar by installing a cross-border power transmission grid line. China had recently supported a Bangladesh initiative to import gas from the Shwe gas field in Rakhine state of Myanmar to meet the growing demand in the country. A consortium of China, India, Myanmar and Daewoo of South Korea has developed the Shwe gas field and an 800-km-long pipeline had already been installed to supply gas from Rakhine state to Kunming in China in 2013. This consortium is likely to a spur a new gas pipeline line from the Myanmar-China pipeline, crossing through the Naf River, to a planned special economic zone (SEZ) in Bangladesh for Chinese industrial investors.

power import from Myanmar

Uncertainty over study team�s visit

Uncertainty prevails over the visit of the technical committee of the energy ministry of the Myanmar government, which is supposed to assess the feasibility of importing electricity from Bangladesh, due to dillydallying by officials of the ministry concerned. Sources in the ministry of power, energy and mineral resources said the technical team from Myanmar was first supposed to visit Bangladesh on May 31 and then later on July 31. But as the ministry has failed to send some required technical papers to Myanmar, the team hasnt arrived. The technical committee of the Myanmar government was supposed to assess the feasibility of importing electricity through the Moheshkhali hub in exchange of gas from Myanmars Rakhaine state, which is adjacent to Bangladesh. Abu Bakar Siddique, secretary of the Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD), said the EMRD has completed the paperwork sought by the Myanmar government. There was some delay as the ministry didnt get the necessary data from the state-owned Petrobangla on time. We are hopeful that the technical committee from the Myanmar government will pay a visit to Bangladesh very soon, he added. Siddique said Bangladesh had an opportunity to import gas from Myanmar way back in 2005-2006. But it did not happen due to the indecision of the then government. Myanmar had ultimately given gas to China, he added. Energy advisor Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury visited Myanmar with a five-member team in February this year. The team held extensive meetings with government leaders, including Myanmar vice-president, foreign minister, power minister and energy minister. There, Bangladesh also made a formal proposal to import gas through pipeline, take part in joint investment for power generation and purchase 500 megawatt of hydropower from Chin or Rakhine provinces of Myanmar by installing a cross-border power transmission grid line. China had recently supported a Bangladesh initiative to import gas from the Shwe gas field in Rakhine state of Myanmar to meet the growing demand in the country. A consortium of China, India, Myanmar and Daewoo of South Korea has developed the Shwe gas field and an 800-km-long pipeline had already been installed to supply gas from Rakhine state to Kunming in China in 2013. This consortium is likely to a spur a new gas pipeline line from the Myanmar-China pipeline, crossing through the Naf River, to a planned special economic zone (SEZ) in Bangladesh for Chinese industrial investors.