The budget estimates issued by Myanmar’s Budget Department say that over 160 billion Kyats will be spent for hydropower projects in the 2023-24 financial year.

These expenditures include the hydropower projects of Shweli (3), Upper Yeywa, Tha Htay and Upper Kyaington and others. A budget of 162.773 billion Kyat will be spent on these projects in this financial year.

According to the department, over 3,389 billion Kyat will be spent on Myanmar’s electric power sector in this 2023-24 fiscal.

Under these budget estimates, 1.449 billion Kyat will be spent for feasibility studies of new hydropower projects, 230.364 billion Kyat for building transmission lines and substations and 127.350 billion Kyat for electric power distribution.

Moreover 2.747 billion Kyat will be spent for maintenance of existing dams, hydropower stations and related hydropower station buildings and 2.964 billion Kyat will be spent for procuring necessary supplies for ongoing hydropower projects.

At the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Energy Forum held for the first time in Astana, Kazakhstan from 3 to 6 October, Myanmar Minister Ko Ko Lwin said that Myanmar had many untapped energy resources and they had limitations in producing energy so that Myanmar would like to cooperate with the SCO in energy production.

Myanmar has abundant water resources and a substantial percentage of electric power comes from hydropower stations, as well as natural gas stations.

But natural gas availability was limited so that the country had to use coal and other energy resources for power generation and they were trying to do their best to have the least impact on the environment, Myanmar minister said at this forum.

Myanmar Minister Ko Ko Lwin also said that since they had shortages in technology and investments they were trying to explore means for cooperation with others.

Currently Myanmar is generating electricity from natural gas, coal, hydropower, thermal and solar. The country was trying to produce more oil and natural gas in the country, the minister said.

The SCO was established by countries led by Beijing and Moscow in early 2000 and it is the organization for politics, economics, international security and defence for the Eurasia region.

The SCO produces about 20% of world GDP and it has nine permanent countries and 14 dialogue partners. Myanmar joined SCO as a dialogue partner this year.