Could we be seeing an end to the electricity crisis in Myanmar? It seems so.
Cyprus-based Andreas Theodorou Group of Companies has officially offered to Khin Maung Soe, minister for energy, and Zayar Aung, minister for electricity, an investment of $25 billion for the development of nationwide green, sustainable energy in Myanmar.
We are entering the year 2014 and 70 percent of Myanmar’s vast population still does not have access to sustainable electricity supply. Logic tells us that if all citizens of Myanmar had access to sustainable and clean electricity supply, it will provide a higher quality of life and higher chances of a better economic state. Electricity can ensure clean water supply, help improve agriculture, industry, health and educational services; overall it would help increase life chances and greatly increase the quality of life for Myanmar citizens who would then be able to better plan a sustainable future for themselves.
Currently, the majority of Myanmar citizens are economically crippled and cannot adequately plan their future due to the lack or no access to uninterrupted electricity supply. The future and progress of Myanmar is largely dependent upon clean and green uninterrupted sustainable electricity supply to every single citizen of the country. Imagine 42-45 million more Myanmar citizens with access to electricity and it will be easy to picture the incredible overnight positive progress of the nation.
Myanmar is a growing nation – with proud and highly-educated, skilled people, whose future is held back and/or stumped due to the lack of industry growth and opportunities which is due to lack of sustainable national electricity supply.
Ambassador C Vassili of ICPT International Human Rights Council, who is from Cyprus, realised the great need for green energy investment in areas of waste to energy, which further reduces the ongoing hazardous waste issues, bio-mass, solar, wind, gas turbine power stations and hydropower in Myanmar. He entered into talks with the ambassador of Myanmar to the UK to discuss how such projects could benefit Myanmar so that all its citizens could benefit from continual nationwide sustainable electricity supply.
European firm Andreas Theodorou Group of Companies also entered the talks and offered an investment of $25 billion in green energy development in Myanmar. The proposal made to Zayar Aung and Khin Maung Soe has been welcomed and is expected to lead to the greater benefit of Myanmar and its citizens.
Let us look at the benefits of the Andreas Theodorou Group of Companies investment.
The firm will seek joint venture partnership with Myanmar companies, which the latter will directly benefit from and create local employment and revenue. Energy development subcontracts will also be aimed at Myanmar companies through this venture, and it will create thousands of long term jobs for Myanmar citizens.
The venture will provide electricity access to all Myanmar citizens of which some 42-45 million of its citizens do not currently have access to main grid or off grid sustainable green electricity supply.
This investment will place Myanmar in a position where it will not need to seek to buy electricity from other countries. In turn, it will help improve and create new home industries, improve exports, create new agriculture and clean water supplies, attract foreign investment, help improve and create new educational and health facilities, and bring Myanmar many years ahead of its energy roadmap.
More importantly it will give Myanmar its national pride and greatly improve the quality of life of its citizens and better allow them the means to create a brighter future for themselves and generations to come.
The Andreas Theodorou Group of Companies have already shown their sincerity and commitment to the investment via a signed and memorandum of understanding which now awaits the signing by the Ministry of Electricity to progress matters towards final contracts.
The benefit of this collaboration between the Andreas Theodorou & TBEA Sunoasis and the ministry will bring Myanmar and its citizens into the light. This would be the greatest gift Myanmar has ever provided to its people.
Angelo Georgiou is the Chief of International Affairs of the ICPT International Human Rights Council. Views and opinions expressed here are the author’s own.
