development project

Several villages in Karen State may soon be hooked up to the electrical grid once a new sub-station comes online, according to an official from the State Electric Power Enterprise. “We are trying to distribute power to Myawady, Kawkareik, Kyondoe, Sukali and Waw Lay Myaing from the 230-kV Mawlamyine power station via the Thin Gan Nyi Naung sub-station, which is…

A new network of activists and civil society groups has been warning Karen State residents of the dangers of coal through environmental awareness trainings held from July 20 to August 5. The Karen State government greenlit a 1280-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Hpa-An township to be built by joint Thai-Japanese company Toyo-Thai Corporation. The power plant would sit between Wut…

Over 1,000 signatures have so far been collected on a petition against building a coal-fired power plant in Karen State, according to local activists. Saw Aung Than Htwe from Htone Taung village said that around 1,300 signatures have been collected in 20 villages in Hpa-an township, as well as in Ta Kaung Boe and U Daung village tracts in Hlaingbwe…

Over 11,000 rural households in Karen State are set to newly receive electricity thanks to a long-awaited solar panel program. Under the National Electrification Project (NEP), the World Bank and the Department of Rural Development are installing heavily subsidized solar panels, which were sold to villagers at a fraction of the real cost. The panels are being installed atop more…

Villagers along the Kawkareik – Aindu road which is now being upgraded to Asia Highway funded by the Asia Development Bank said that they want transparency and more understandable information on the project. The Village Development Committee formed with representatives from the 24 villages affected by the project made the statement during a meeting on 15 June, 2017. The meeting…

Authorities are holding discussions on using a solar power system in the Lay Kay Kaw newtown in Myawaddy Township, Karen State until electricity is available for the settlement development project. Lay Kay Kaw newtown is situated nine -miles south of Myawaddy town and was built to accommodate conflict affected communities, including displaced villagers, refugees and families members of the Karen…

Plans to build dams on the Salween River by the Burma government, China and Thailand threatens millions of villagers and animals that depend on the free flowing river for their living, food sources and as a vital transport link. The Salween River is one of Asia’s great rivers that brings life to the people who live along its banks. The…

Local residents and community leaders gathered to meet with local press at Zayat Phyu village on October 8, to express their opposition against the proposed coal power plant to supply electricity for the No.2 Myaing Galay cement plant near Hpa-an. On the mid-September 2016, the villagers were informed by officials from the Ministry of Energy and from the cement plant…

Ongoing military operations by the Burma Army and government militia against DKBA forces are a threat to the peace process, Karen military leaders and community organisations warn. Karen Rivers Watch have blamed the Hat Gyi dam project in Karen State as igniting the latest armed clashes, which have seen thousands of local civilians displaced and fierce running gun battles. Naw…

Karen community based organisations have condemned the Asia Highway project for displacing local communities who had the “misfortune of standing in the way of transnational interests” in a report. The report, entitled ‘Beautiful Words, Ugly Actions: The Asian Highway in Karen State’ documents a range of community concerns regarding the Asia Highway project, which is part of a much larger…