Powering sustainable development in Myanmar

Myanmar is changing fast, and relies on constant and reliable power to fuel development. But with 70 per cent of the country’s electricity coming from hydropower and a dry season that lasts from October to May, this was a problem. The Myanmar Electric Power Enterprise (MEPE) started to look for a partner who could install and run an interim power station during the dry months and beyond. After a competitive bid, they asked us to work with them to bring uninterrupted power to the Myingyan district.

The challenges here were enormous. The sheer scale of the project meant we needed to source equipment by land, sea and air from 12 different locations around the world. Then our logistics team had to clear it through customs, and bring it through difficult terrain to the site on time. We then installed 92 generators along with transformers, gas-insulated switchgear and a 6 km long 132 kV transmission line connected to the incoming switch bay at the Myingyan substation. Finally, using local natural gas from the China-Myanmar pipeline, we worked with MEPE to set up a high-pressure reduction system, to capture and convert the gas into an efficient fuel source.

The entire project took only 120 days from start to finish, a huge achievement for MEPE and our power plant team. But supplying critical power was just one of our goals in Myanmar. MEPE also needed to work with a partner who would hire locally, train staff and make sure the plant created jobs and opportunities in the local community. This is something we’re known for wherever we are, and at the Myingyansite, 77 per cent of the workforce are now from Myanmar – which means that the plant is powering the economy in more ways than one.