American power solutions provider APR Energy announced that the company’s power generation plant in Myanmar is now fully operational.
In February, APR clinched a contract to build a “fast-track” 100-megawatt power plant in upper Myanmar, becoming the first American company to sign a power generation agreement with the government since the lifting of sanctions in 2013.
Based in Kyaukse, Mandalay region, the plant provides the Myanmar Electric Power Enterprise (MEPE) with a guaranteed minimum of 82MW of power and will enable the provision of electricity and power to more than six million people, APR Energy said in a statement.
The contract, which is on a rental basis, is expected to run through to late 2015.
Clive Turton, managing director Asia Pacific at APR Energy, said: “The commissioning of our thermal power generation plant, one of the largest in the country, is an important first step towards establishing adequate reliable power generation capacity in Myanmar.
“We look forward to playing a continued role to help Myanmar supply power efficiently and reliably to its people and industries.”
Turton said Myanmar is a fast growing economy and the country, like many others in the region, needs reliable power in order to begin fulfilling its potential.
The project represents another substantial investment by a US company in the infrastructure of Myanmar, and the firm said it will “contribute to the economic and social progress of Myanmar by employing local people and supporting community development programs.”
Fuelled by natural gas from the Shwe Gas Project, the plant features 68 of the newest generation CAT low-emission mobile gas power modules (GPMs) and will offer “one of the cleanest power generation solutions” in Myanmar, APR said.
Penny Pritzker, US Secretary of Commerce, who was on a visit to Myanmar recently, said APR providing power solutions in Myanmar is “critical,” particularly as 75 percent of the country’s population lacks access to electricity.
“The engagement of US businesses in Myanmar will help promote inclusive growth that benefits all of the country’s people,” she said.
Turton, in an earlier interview with Myanmar Business Today, said the firm plans to work with the ministry to provide solutions for “further power needs” and have “more potential projects.”
“We are very keen to develop our businesses in the market and we will be looking forward to making a lot of investments in this country in this particular sector.”
