Work stops on hydropower project near Thandwe, Rakhine State due to fighting

Residents of Thandwe Township in southern Rakhine State claim that construction on a nearly completed hydroelectric power project halted this week after clashes broke out nearby between junta forces and the Arakan Army (AA). The planned project, located on the north bank of the Tha Htay creek some 12 miles northeast of Thandwe, will be the first operational hydropower project in Rakhine State upon its completion. With a predicted capacity to produce 386 million kilowatt-hours per year and supply electrical energy to a million people, the project has been ongoing since 2008 in cooperation with the Japan-based utility company The Kansai Kansai Electric Power Limited. Construction continued even after the 2021 military coup, and the military council estimated in October 2022 that the entire project would be finished in the 2025-2026 fiscal year. After the AA launched assaults on a junta base camp near the Tha Htay project, construction came to a halt, according to a man living near Thandwe who spoke to Myanmar Now on condition of anonymity. “Employees don’t dare stay on the project site during the battle,” he said. Project employees from Myanmar are relocating to nearby villages and towns, while Chinese employees are checking into hotels and guesthouses in Thandwe. “Some private companies have loaned machinery and equipment for the project. If the AA takes control, they will have to abandon the equipment,” the local man added. “They cannot risk staying onsite with the loaned equipment, and I think that’s why they’ve left.” After contracting the privately owned machines for construction work to supplement their state-owned equipment, project staff have now been forced to haul the machines back to their owners in Myanmar’s heartland, the man explained. There are also eight warehouses on the project site used for storing cement, wood, and other construction materials, the man continued, adding that he had heard the materials would be moved to other locations within a three-day period, during which it was rumoured that the AA and junta forces would observe a truce. “The AA told the project managers to move the rest of the machinery out within three days. I think they have also asked employees to evacuate the hydropower project site. It’s because they plan to occupy it, I think. That site is a good hideout," he said. Official photo released by the military council of the Thandwe Township hydropower project site in Rakhine State. (Photo: SAC) With clashes delaying the widely anticipated completion of the project, local people’s hopes that they would soon have access to a reliable supply of electricity will be frustrated. There is also concern that completed parts of the project may be damaged and require rebuilding if the junta air force conducts bombing raids. The military attacked the area near Thandwe and the hydropower project site by land, water, and air on Sunday. Except for the distant sounds of artillery, residents said, fighting subsided over the next two days. Residents of villages near the battlefield have been fleeing to the Shwe Hlay area, some nine miles west of the hydropower project site. Junta warships fired on Thandwe Township from offshore using heavy artillery on Tuesday morning, local civilians said. Citing locals, a woman from Toungup Township—which borders Thandwe Township to the north—said that some have fled Thandwe altogether due to the sounds of heavy artillery. "There are people fleeing towards villages where they might escape the fighting. However, many people are still staying in the town,” she said. “Since nothing has happened in the town itself, they are still watching to see what happens.” Myanmar Now attempted to contact Hla Thein, the junta-appointed state-level attorney general and spokesperson for the military council’s administration in Rakhine State, with questions about the Tha Htay project's suspension and the departure of workers, but he did not answer his phone. Starting in mid-November of last year, the AA has been attacking junta forces in Rakhine State. After capturing scores of army base camps in the northern part of the state, they have concentrated more of their assaults on junta bases in the southern townships of Kyaukphyu, Ann, and Thandwe. The AA has now succeeded in seizing control of Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya, Rathedaung, Ponnagyun, Pauktaw, Myebon and Ramree townships in Rakhine State, as well as Paletwa Township in Chin State, from the Myanmar military.

Work stops on hydropower project near Thandwe, Rakhine State due to fighting

Potential junta airstrikes at the construction site could cause further delays in completing the project, which was on schedule to start providing electricity to a million people by 2026

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