CPI President Lu astonished to learn about Myitsone suspension

Mr. LU Qizhou, President of China Power Investment Corporation, admitted he was totally astonished to learn that the Myanmar government will suspend the on-going Myitsone Hydropower Project.

He sadi that he learnt about this only through the media and and lamented that the Myanmar side never communicated with them in any way about the “suspension”.

Ever since CPI and Myanmar Ministry of Electric Power No. 1 “MOEP (1)” signed the MOU in December 2006, CPI has always followed the principle of mutual respect, mutual benefit and win-win result and established a Joint Venture with the Myanmar side, strictly observed the Chinese and Myanmar laws and regulations, diligently fulfilled our duties and obligations, and proceeded according to the operation mode of international BOT project. In March 2009, the Chinese and Myanmar governments signed the Framework Agreement on Joint Development of Hydropower Resources in Myanmar, explicitly supporting CPI in developing the upstream-Ayeyawady hydropower project.

We hired topnotch hydropower design institutes, research institutes, consultancies and authoritative experts in China to carry out planning, design, specific study, consultation and supervision for the upstream-Ayeyawady hydropower project. Changjiang Institute of Survey, Planning, Design and Research is responsible for the planning of upstream-Ayeyawady basin and the design of Myitsone Hydropower Project. It is also the institute that designed China’s Three Georges Project. When we proceeded with Myitsone Hydropower Project, technical documents were consulted and reviewed by authoritative organizations and experts, and passed review organized by MOEP

"This is to say that the upstream-Ayeyawady hydropower project including Myitsone Hydropower Station, for which CPI is responsible for development and construction, is a major project approved by Myanmar government and has strictly performed all legal procedures in China and Myanmar. In February this year, Myanmar’s Prime Minister urged us to accelerate the construction when he inspected the project site, so the sudden proposal of suspension now is very bewildering. If suspension means construction halt, then it will lead to a series of legal issues," said Mr Lu.