Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
On November 20, 1998, China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC) Technology Co Ltd signed an MoU with Myanmar’s Ministry of Electric Power on equipment supply and servicing for the 75MW Mone Creek Multipurpose Dam Construction Project. Then, on November 8, 2000, Sinohydro Corporation Limited and CITIC signed a $17.5 million contract for the provision of power generation equipment and technical support to the project. China Eximbank reportedly issued a $32 million buyer’s credit loan in support of the project. The proceeds of this loan were likely used (in part) by the borrower to finance the contract between Sinohydro Corporation Limited and CITIC. The project involved the construction of a 75MW hydroelectric power plant and dam on the Mone Creek in Sedoktara Township (two miles north of Minbu District, Magway Division). The dam is 4,320 ft long and the embankment is 200 ft high. It has a water storage capacity of 674,400-acre-ft and can irrigate 108,000 acres. Mon Creek hydropower station is 258 ft long, 128 ft wide and 110 ft high. Three turbine generators at the hydropower are capable of generating 75MW. The ultimate purpose of the project was to increase the supply of irrigation water, expand paddy cultivation by over 70,000 acres, prevent flooding, and generate 330 kWh per year. CITIC and Sinohydro Corporation Limited were the contractors responsible for implementation of the project. The project was completed on December 29, 2004.
Staff comments
1. This project is also known as the Mone Chaung Hydropower Project, the 3x25MW Mon Creek Multipurpose Dam Construction Project, and the Mon Creek Hydro Power Station Project. The Chinese project title is 孟河水电站. 2. The China Eximbank loan that supported this project is not included in the Overseas Development Finance Dataset that Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center published in December 2020. 3. The loan commitment (transaction value) of $32 million is taken from page 24 of "Sino-Myanmar Economic Relations Since 1988," where it is reported that in 1998 CITIC signed an MoU for $52 million for two power plants. One of the power plants under the MoU (Thaphenseik hydroelectric power plant) is described as costing $20 million, which is why the Mone Creek power plant is recorded as having a monetary value of $32 million.