It has been nearly a year since the Mawlamyine Cement Limited (MCL) factory has been operating in the Pyar Tung area of Kyaikmaraw Township in Mon State. Transport ships have ceased traveling along the Attran river to supply the factory. As a result local fisherfolk have been able to return to harvesting fish and shrimp.
“Since no ships have been passing by, it’s easier for us to find fish and shrimp. When the ships were going through, it was not good to find fish because we always had to move aside,” said U Than Nyut, a local fisherman.
When the MCL cement factory was in operation, it was routine for at least 6 ships/day to navigate the river, causing distraction and difficulties for local farmers and fisherfolk.
In addition, the passing of these big ships led to the banks cracking and falling into the river. The walls of houses located near the river banks also suffered extensive damage. and cracking.
“Since my childhood, our family has relied on the river for our livelihood. We would catch fish and shrimp, and we could get up to 8 and 9 Pei Thar (over 1 Kg) per day. That was before the factory began its operations. But after the factory was built there were ships passing by, and it was not easy for us to catch the fish. If we get 3 Pei Thar per day, it would be a lucky day,” said U Hla Aung, a local fisherman.
Despite these difficulties, fishermen still had to obtain an annual fishing license.
“Since there have been no ships passing by, there has been less damage to the environment. Within this year, we can now see the river banks like before. Rock mining has also been stopped, the farmers can now return to their work. The smaller trucks can now travel the road with greater ease because there are no longer big trucks carrying cement for MCL. Within this one year alone, the environment has improved a lot.” said U Shwe Win, with the Pyar Taung Area Community Development Group.
The MCL factory shut down on July 15, 2020 leaving over a thousand employees jobless. No compensation was provided to these workers.
MCL was a joint venture between Siam Cement Group of Thailand and Pacific Link Cement Industry Ltd (PLCI), with an approximately 400 million USD investment. The factory opened in April, 2017, and its production capacity was 5000 tons of cement per day.
