Locals fear more pipeline blasts in Shan State

“There was an explosion in Nahkan while cleaning the pipeline on February 28. Another explosion occurred near Namtu on March 13 while digging the pipeline. Although no one was injured, we know that [the company] has not done anything for safety and environmental protection. Locals are worried that really bad incidents will happen when petrol and natural gas are transported [to China],” Lway Kwe, a member of the group, told media in Yangon yesterday.

The pipeline passes through 51 villages in the six townships of Shan State, another member of the group, Mine Myo Aung, said.

The Thai-based Shwe Gas Movement, a coalition of activists campaigning against the pipeline, said the company that will operate the pipeline needs to explain the environmental impact assessment to affected villagers as well as potential dangers before it begins operating the pipeline.

The coalition also called for a review of compensation for the expropriated land in 21 townships as the amount set aside to cover this was just 0.013 per cent of the entire project’s budget.

The controversial project comprises two 800-kilometre pipelines, one for natural gas and the other for crude oil, which will run alongside each other from the coastal township of Kyaunkphyu in Rakhine State through Mandalay Region and Shan State before entering China’s Yunnan province.

The project is a joint venture between China National Petroleum Corporation’s South East Asia Pipeline and the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise.

Concern over the project increased after CNCP project manager Cheng Huan Lai said the pipeline had been placed just 1.2 metres below ground to cut costs. Some environmentalists recommended that it be buried at a depth of 5 metres, as this was the international standard.