Mon State Hluttaw to reconsider MCL’s cement factory proposal, says State Hluttaw Deputy Speaker

Mon State Hluttaw [Parliament] will re-evaluate the proposed coal-fired plant that Mawlamyine Cement Limited (MCL) has intended to run its factory in Kyaikmayaw Township, Mon State, according to Dr. Aung Naing Oo, Mon State Hluttaw Deputy Speaker.

Last Friday [April 29], the deputy speaker met with locals, who oppose the coal-fired plant in Kyaikmayaw Township, to discuss the project.

“This is about the level of transparency the company has with the locals regarding its project and on what points they [the company] are passable regarding their project’s permission. We will evaluate these points again and analyze them. If the Hluttaw [Parliament] decides that the company should not apply for a coal-fired plant, the government and company then will need to find a way to use it,” said Dr. Aung Naing Oo, in an interview with MNA.

Dr. Aung Naing Oo added that several major projects and factories’ constructions were implemented without the wishes of the public not only in the previous government’s term, but in the last five years too.

“Hluttaw deputy speaker met with us to discuss the letter that we submitted regarding the MCL cement factory. The discussion included matters of electricity and how far into completion the factory actually was,” said Nai Shwe Win, a Makro Villager.

MCL, under a 400 million USD investment, will apply coal power to run its factory and is planning to begin the factory operation in mid-2016, according to a MCL official.

“We did not know that the locals are opposing the factory’s coal power project. We will run the coal power minimally to reduce the risks,” said Thawan Mapongpeng, Human Resources Manager of MCL.

MCL would use coal power and bio waste to generate 40 mega watt as well as waste heat generator (WHG),adding 9 mega watts, to produce 49-mega watt electricity to run its factory, according to a statement from the MCL.

On April 25, over 3,800 locals provided their signatures and sent a petition letter to the President, the Mon State Government and other respective government ministries calling to block the use of coal power at MCL.