Plans for coal-fired plant spark alarm in coastal town
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Residents of a coastal town in Aeyeywaddy Region say they were kept in the dark about a plan to construct a coal-fired power plant in their town for more than a year, and are now alarmed about possible environmental damage from the plant as well as forced
Ngayokekaung residents said it took the government a year to inform them that it had signed an initial agreement with India-based Ta Ta Company in April 2013 to construct the plant.
Resident Kan Ka said that even when they were told about the plan, information was limited. A committee from the regional government announced the coal-fired plant would generate more than 3,600 megawatts of electricity, but neglected to tell residents where it would be located, Kan Ka said.
He said local residents were alarmed about possible relocation as well as environmental damage. “If construction starts, we are going to face social and environmental changes. Where are we going to live? The government and Ta Ta Company haven’t told us,” he said. If the plant is built the public has a right to know how it fits into plans to develop the region, he added.
Aeyeywaddy Region chief minister Thein Aung, however, is finally moving to soothe local concerns. “A Japanese company will carry out the environmental and social impact assessments,” he told Eleven Media.
He also said that government officials and Ta Ta executives would visit the area on Friday. “They will address local concerns about the project and respond to questions from local residents,” he said, adding that representatives of civic organisations would also attend a public meeting to discuss the project.
Kyi Ngwe, an administrator from No 2 ward in Ngayokekaung, said, “We hope both government and the company will ensure greater transparency in construction of the project.”
Activist Ko Moe called for greater transparency about the project. “The government and the company should make every detail about the project clear to the public. Even if the advantages are 80 per cent and the disadvantages are 20 per cent it should be stopped,” he added.
Environmentalist Win Myo Thu called for the plan to be scrapped. The government should opt for natural gas-fired rather than coal-fired plants because gas-fired plants generate less pollution, Win Myo Thu said.
The environmentalist also called for impartial environmental and social impact assessments – stressing that they should not be biased towards the company – and said the reports
