S'pore firm to build 230 megawatt power plant in Mon State
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Asiatech Energy Private Limited will become the first Singapore firm to build a power plant in Mon State, the company head said on Monday.
“Asiatech is delighted to be the first Singapore company to build a combined cycle gas-fired power plant in the Mon State to help serve the country’s electrical needs,” said Tang Weng Fei, chairman of Asiatech Energy.
The project will be financed by Singapore-based United Overseas Bank. In Nay Pyi Taw, UOB signed on Monday a financing agreement with Asiatech Energy to build a combined cycle gas-fired power plant in Mon State.
“This is a significant milestone for us and UOB has been instrumental to this project by supporting us with funding from Singapore,” said Tang Weng Fei.
Asiatech Energy was commissioned to construct the power plant in Mawlamyaing Township by Myanmar Lighting IPP Co Ltd (MLC). MLC will own and operate the power plant and the electricity generated will then be distributed by Myanmar Electrical Power Enterprise.
Once completed, the 230 megawatt power plant will produce enough electricity to provide power to approximately 5 million people in the Southeast Asian country.
The plant will be built over two phases and is expected to start producing an initial 43 MW of electricity by the second quarter of this year. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2015.
The financing of Asiatech Energy’s project is in line with our approach of supporting the businesses building the infrastructure that is necessary to drive the region’s economic growth, said Frederick Chin, managing director and head of Group Wholesale Banking at UOB, which has opened a representative office in Myanmar since 1994.
“As power is essential in the creation of new industries and jobs for Myanmar, we are honoured to be able to partner with AsiaTech Energy to help deliver on the country’s increasing demand for electricity,” Chin added.
The signing of the financing agreement with Asiatech Energy comes a week after UOB announced that it had partnered the Us-based APR Energy, a global leader in power solutions, in their construction of a 100 MW power plant in the Mandalay region. The APR Energy contract was the first power generation agreement signed by a US firm with the Myanmar government since the lifting of economic sanctions in 2013.
According to the Asian Development Bank, only a quarter of Myanmar’s population of more than 60 million people currently has access to electricity. Outside the major cities -- Yangon, Nay Pyi Taw and Mandalay -- one in five households is connected to the electricity grid.
