Mawlamyine Cement Limited (MCL) announced it will begin operating its cement factory and coal-fired plant in Kyaikmayaw Township as planned in mid-2016, according to the company’s Managing Director, Mr. Wijit Terasarun.
Permissions granted by the Myanmar Investment Cooperation and Myanmar Seaport Authority allowed MCL to begin shipping materials, including coal, across the Ataran River in late February in preparation of its operations.
“MCL plans to transport about 30,000 metric tons of coal to use at its factory,” said Mr. Wijit Terasarun in an interview with MNA.
“When the ships arrive here, we transfer the cargo to our trucks. It is 7,500 Kyat per transfer. If we transport cargo in a ten-wheeler truck, we can carry six tons of coal. Compared with sand and rocks, the weight of coal is incredibly light,” said a truck driver hired to transport the coal.
Thousands of local people living near the factory site are meanwhile opposing the coal-fired power plant, claiming that MCL did not inform them about the plant until a few months before construction began. A local signature campaign was recently initiated in order to petition company and state authorities regarding the project.
MCL has stated it will need 49 mega watts of power to run its cement factory and intends to produce 40 mega watts from the coal-fired plant and bio waste, and the rest from a Waste Heat Generator (WHG).
MCL’s managing director added that the company would soon conduct a test-run of factory production.
