The recent takeover of northern Tangyan township by the United Wa State Army (UWSA) is triggering local fears that China’s long-held plans to build the Naung Pha dam on the Salween River will soon be realised.
The UWSA made public its intentions to expand into Tangyan on July 10, 2024, when over 2,000 UWSA troops arrived in trucks from east of the Salween, taking up positions around Tangyan town and along the Tangyan-Mongyai highway. However, away from the public eye, the UWSA had already seized control of the entire northern Tangyan region five months earlier, ousting the regime-aligned Man Pang militia.
The UWSA’s expansion into northern Tangyan puts it in control of the western bank of the Salween opposite the site of the 225 MW Mantong dam under construction on the Nam Ma river, a tributary of the Salween in the Wa Self-Administered Division.
The Mantong dam is a joint venture between China’s state-owned Hydrochina Corporation and the Burmese military crony-owned International Group of Entrepreneurs (IGE), under a project agreement which includes construction of the 1,200 MW Naung Pha dam on the mainstream Salween nearby. Both dams are Build Operate Transfer (BOT) projects planned to export at least 50% of power to China.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for both dams was signed in December 2009 during a visit by then Vice President Xi Jinping to Naypyidaw, and the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) was signed in May 2014 under the Thein Sein government. While strong public opposition prevented the Naung Pha dam from moving ahead, the UWSA has quietly allowed construction of the Mantong dam to begin in their territory. Recent satellite images show ongoing preparation for the dam foundations on both sides of the Nam Ma river.
Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs) for both dams were carried out by Australian-based Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation – SMEC (acquired by Singapore government-owned Surbana Jurong group in 2016) but, according to a 2017 assessment by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the ESIAs were never submitted to the Myanmar Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation. SMEC is now listed as the official contact for both projects.
The UWSA’s willingness to cater to China’s interests in letting the Mantong dam proceed make it highly likely that it will similarly expedite the Naung Pha dam, now that it controls both sides of the Salween project site.
In the second week of August 2024, twelve Chinese “businessmen” were seen
visiting the Naung Pha dam site. They were brought in SUV vehicles across the Ta Kawng Ek bridge from the east of the Salween by UWSA troops, who escorted them through northern Tangyan up to the dam site.
The Naung Pha dam is one of three large dams planned by Chinese companies on the Salween river in Shan State. The other two are the 1,400 MW Kunlong dam to the north and the 7,000 MW Mong Ton dam in southern Shan State.
For years, local communities, civil society groups, political parties and armed resistance organisations along the length of the Salween in Burma have voiced opposition to the damming of the river, due to the immeasurable social and environmental impacts on the millions living in the Salween basin.
Specific concerns about the Naung Pha dam include the danger of earthquakes being triggered by the weight of water in the dam reservoir. Northeast Shan State is an earthquake prone area, and the dam is located close to several fault lines. One of the main reasons why the Chinese government in 2004 suspended plans to build thirteen dams on the Salween/Nu river inside China was the danger of earthquakes, as the river runs directly along major fault lines.
Another concern is the danger of heavy flooding necessitating a sudden release of water from the dam, causing a dangerous water surge downstream. Unprecedented flooding in Shan State this year has heightened this concern.
China should heed the overwhelming public opposition to the Salween dams and immediately cancel all plans to dam this vital artery of eastern Burma.
Singapore should also immediately end the involvement of Surbana Jurong’s subsidiary SMEC in both the Naung Pha and Mantong dam projects.
Timeline of the Naung Pha dam and Mantong dam projects
December 20, 2009
MoU signed by Hydrochina and Burma’s Ministry of Electric Power 1 (MOEP) to build the Naung Pha and Mantong dams, witnessed by Vice President Xi Jinping during a visit to Naypyidaw.
May 22, 2014
MoA for Naung Pha and Mantong dams signed by Hydrochina and Burma’s MOEP.
2014
Satellite images show construction preparation at Mantong dam site.
June 2016
SMEC carries out public consultations for ESIA for Naung Pha dam in UWSA-controlled areas, and in Hopang, Kunlong and Mong Yaw, claiming on the dam’s promotional website that locals support the dam.
August 5, 2016
About 250 people from nine village tracts in Tangyan, including the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) MP for Tangyan, hold a public protest against the Naung Pha dam.
August 21, 2016
About 60 community leaders from Ho Pang, Kunlong, Tangyan, Lashio and Hsenwi, including three SNLD MPs, hold a public protest against the Naung Pha.
August 23, 2016
Shan community groups hold press conference in Bangkok to raise concerns about the Naung Pha dam and SMEC’s ESIA. After this, the website promoting the Naung Pha dam (naopha.com) is taken down.
July 25, 2024
Satellite image shows ongoing preparation for Mantong dam foundations on both sides of Nam Ma river.