China Eximbank provides loan for 240MW Dapeyin I Hydropower Plant Construction Project (Linked to Project ID#67706 and #63694)

On December 20, 2009, a special purpose vehicle and joint venture — called Dapein (1) Hydropower Company Limited (Myanmar) or 缅甸太平江一期水电有限 — was established by Datang (Yunnan) United Hydropower Developing Co., Ltd. (85% ownership stake) and the Government of Myanmar’s Department of Hydropower Planning (15% ownership stake). Then, on May 28, 2010, the Government of Myanmar — through the Myanmar Investment Commission — granted Dapein (1) Hydropower Company Limited (Myanmar) a 35-year BOT concession to construct, finance, and operate and maintain the 240MW Dapeyin I Hydropower Plant. China Eximbank subsequently provided an overseas investment loan to Dapein (1) Hydropower Company Limited (Myanmar) for the 240MW Dapeyin I Hydropower Plant Construction Project. The face value and borrowing terms of the loan are unknown. The purpose of the project was to construct a 240MW hydroelectric power plant — with four, 60MW power generation units (Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, and Unit 4) — on the Dapein River near the old Kalonskha village in Moemauk Township about 30 miles to the northeast of Bhamo city and Kachin state. The project also involved the construction of a 46 meter high dam and headrace tunnel that diverts the water to the powerhouse some 4.3 km downstream. The geographical coordinates of the dam are east longitude of 97°31´35" and north latitude of 24°25´18" (or 24.421451, 97.525448). The geographical coordinates of the power plant are east longitude of 97°30´02" and north latitude of 24°24´15"15. The small, narrow (average 130 m wide) reservoir inundates 0.35 km2, stores 22 hm3 , and extends 2.6 km up to the Myanmar-PRC border, immediately below a powerhouse within the PRC. Myanmar takes 19 MW (8%) of the power through a 37 km long 132 kV transmission line to Bamaw (Bahmo) substation, while 221 MW is exported to PRC via a 500 kV transmission line. Central China Power International Trade Co., Sinohydro, and China Datang Corporation were the contractors responsible for implementation. The project commenced on December 19, 2007. After three years of construction, Unit 1 was commissioned on August 26, 2010. It began supplying power to Bhamo, Mansi, Momauk and Shwegu on September 18, 2010. Unit 2 was commissioned on September 24, 2010. Unit 3 was commissioned on December 22, 2010. Unit 4 was commissioned on December 28, 2010. The project was completed on January 23, 2011. China Eximbank also provided a loan for a power transmission project to evacuate electricity from the 240MW Dapeyin I Hydropower Plant (captured in Project ID#63694).

Additional details

1. This project is also known as the 4x60MW Tapein 1 Hydropower Plant, the Tarpein-1 Hydropower Plant, the Dapein I Hydropower Plant Project, and the Dapein (1) Hydropower Station Project. The Chinese project title is 太平江一期水电站位 or 缅甸太平江一期水电站项目(240MW). The Burmese project title is တာပိန္(၂). 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. The Government of Myanmar’s Department of Hydropower Planning is part of the Ministry of Electric Power No. 1. 3. Given that the total estimated cost of the project was RMB 1,467,060,000 and China Eximbank has a policy of using overseas investment loans to finance up to 70% of the cost of an overseas investment, AidData has estimated the face value of the loan (i.e. the transaction amount) by calculating 70% of RMB 1,467,060,000 (1,026,942,000).

Number of official sources

7

Number of total sources

20