The Mon State Hluttaw Deputy speaker, three chairpersons of the Hluttaw Affairs Committee and government officials visited Mawlamyine Cement Limited (MCL) to observe its cement factory on Wednesday.
On April 25, a 4,000 signature strong petition was sent to the Hluttaw from the locals in Kyaikmayaw Township. As a result, Hluttaw representatives made their trip to the MCL factory site on June 1 to survey its operations.
“We, Mon State Hluttaw representatives, came to this MCL factory to observe due to petition letters from the locals here. However, we are yet to disclose our decision on this matter and we’re still verifying it at the moment,” said Deputy Speaker Dr. Aung Naing Oo.
At the meeting with the officials from the MCL, the members of environment protection committee, petition committee and law making committee were urged by the MCL to bring its environmental impact assessment (EIA) report to the Hluttaw.
“That’s because they would power the cement factory with a coal fired plant. Therefore, in that circumstance, we meet with the people from the factory. We listen to what they report. We also listen to the voices of the locals. We will submit our findings and the voices of the people to the Hluttaw. Ultimately, we will have the discussion with respective government groups,” said U Aung Kyaw Thu, chairman of Petition Committee.
U Aung Kyaw Thu added that the current government represented the public and gave its attention to the people. Consequently, for the public, it would not be difficult to hold discourse with the government. We assume that the government listened to the voice of the public. Since the government officials are also representatives of the people, if any disagreement occurred between them regarding the cement plant, it will be decided through a democratic vote.
“We conducted the EIA in four months intervals. We also submitted the EIA report to the environment department regularly and in accordance with the environmental law of the country,” said U Zaw Lwin Oo, in-charge person of MCL factory, at the meeting with Hluttaw representatives.
3,000 tonnes of coal has already arrived at the MCL factory and it is currently testing 5 megawatts of electricity, according to management at the factory.
The MCL, with USD 400 million investment, plans to produce 5000 tons of cement per day. In order to run its factory, it would need 49 mega watts of electricity. Of the 49 megawatts, 40 megawatts are from the coal fired plant and bio waste with the remaining 9 megawatts coming from a waste heat generator (WHG), according the MCL’s statement.
