“We do not allow [the Toyo-Thai Corporation to] conduct a survey for the project of the factory [sic]. It is uncertain whether [the company] will continue its project, since it has drawn its project plants to initiate its plan. We, as Mon State Hluttaw (parliament), are to agree with and fulfill the peoples’ wishes,” said Nai Kyen Pe, Chairman of the Mon State Hluttaw, in an interview with IMNA.
In a September 5th letter sent to Moulmein District’s General Administration Department and the Ye Township Administration Department, the Mon State Government identified that the deadline for the company to conduct its ‘feasibility survey’ passed on July 20th, and the State Government would not allow them to conduct the survey.
“The letter, concerned with the [power plant] factory, which is not allowed to [be] construct[ed], was sent to us. In the letter, is said [the] time for examining the factory is over, so it is not allowed to be built. Last month, we saw a group of researchers come to examine along the sea. At the moment, we can see that the project of factory construction has been halted. We do not yet know what [the company] will continue to do,” said Aunden [village] resident Mi Seik Sorn.
Last April, the company held a meeting with local Aunden residents in the area of the Parlain Mountain in Ye Township, explaining the project and the fact that the plant could produce 1280 Mega Watts of power. In early August, the Toyo-Thai Corporation submitted a letter to the Ministry of Electricity and Power, requesting permission from the President’s Office to allow for plant construction.
The coal-fired power plant project is based on Ultra Super Critical (USC) technology and would be an investment of 2700 million USD; with a BOT system, the company’s president explained that the investment would last for thirty years.
Other foreign companies have proposed construction projects for coal-fired power plants in Ahzin Village, Ye Township, and Kyaikkami area, in Thanbyuzayat Township, Mon State.
