Invitation for bids to conduct Petroleum operations in Myanmar Htaukshabin-Kanni oil field (2022)
Interested parties are cordially invited to submit “Expression of Interest” not later than 12:00 noon on 17 June 2022. Read more …
Travel to Myanmar in 2022: COVID-19 Entry Restrictions Update
UPDATED: April 1, 2022
Myanmar will open to international travelers on April 17, 2022. Foreign nationals will soon be able to visit Myanmar for the first time since 2020.
Business eVisa applications for Myanmar have already resumed. Eligible travelers can apply for a business visa for Myanmar online.
29 solar power plants of Myanmar to generate 1,030 MW in mid-2021
The Ministry of Electricity and Energy is implementing 29 solar power projects, with the installed capacity of 1,030 megawatts, to generate electricity in mid-2021, according to the 4th coordination meeting of National Renewable Energy Committee yesterday.
The committee meeting was held in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday, and it was attended by Union Minister for Electricity and Energy U Win Khaing as the chairman, Union Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation Dr Aung Thu as the vice-chairman, Union Minister for Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation U Ohn Win, Union Minister for Transport and Communications U Thant Sin Maung, Union Attorney-General U Tun Tun Oo and committee members.
At the meeting, Union Minister U Win Khaing said that the committee has organized three meetings since it was formed in February 2019, and could work for the improvement of renewable energy in Myanmar’s Energy Mix, opening the first solar power plant in Myanmar with 40 MW capacity in Minbu on 27 June 2019, the 0.5 MW solar power plant in Manaungkyun on 19 December 2019 inaugurated by the State Counsellor.
The 0.5 MW solar power plant in Cocogyun Township began electricity generation for 24 hours every day since 4 January 2021.
After completing the ongoing solar projects, Myanmar’s energy mix for electricity generation would be 40 per cent from hydropower, 14 per cent from solar, 3 per cent from domestic natural gas, 11 per cent from liquified natural gas and 1 per cent from other sources.
When the installed capacity reached 8,118 MW, the power generation from renewable energy will account for 54 per cent and 45 per cent from clean fuel. The country has met international policies for renewable energy and exceeded the expectation of ASEAN on renewable energy.
The electrification ratio of the country has reached over 58 per cent, and renewable energy would significantly contribute in 75 per cent coverage of electricity in the country.
Moreover, the electricity supply in Yangon and Mandalay region is targeted to reach 75 per cent this year, while Myanmar has pledged at the Climate Ambition Summit which was held on 12 December last year as the preliminary event of COP 26 Climate Change Conference that will take place in Britain at the end of this year to develop up to 39 per cent of renewable energy in the country’s electricity ratio.
Under the Nationally Determined Contribution, which is aimed for the reduction of climate change, Myanmar is working to reduce carbon dioxide emission from 297 million tonnes of the present to 144 million tonnes in 2030.
Union Minister U Win Khaing also talked about the works of Department of Rural Development to set up solar mini-grid and solar home system in remote and rural areas, increasing 5 per cent of electrification rate in the country.
The MoEE will implement the floating solar project in collaboration with the MoALI, and the solar-power plant with the MoPFI. The meeting was attended by ministerial officials, Yangon City Mayor U Maung Maung Soe, Mandalay City Development Committee member Dr Thit Sin and senior members of relevant organizations via online—MNA (Translated by Aung Khin)
Myanmar receives first batch of COVID-19 vaccines from India
YANGON (Reuters) – Myanmar on Friday received 1.5 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine supplied by India to inoculate 750,000 people, the first vaccine batch delivered to the Southeast Asian country as it fights one of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in the region.
Dawei SEZ concession agreements terminated
Dawei Special Economic Zone Management Committee Has announced on 18 January 2021 : “The DESZ MC lost confidence in the capacity of the Concessionaires’ to proceed with these projects of national significance after repeated delays, continuing breaches of financial obligations under the contracts and Concessionaires’ failure to confirm their financial capacity to proceed with development.
IMF Executive Board Approves a SDR 258.4 Million Disbursement to Myanmar to Address the COVID-19 Pandemic
IMF Executive Board Approves a SDR 258.4 Million Disbursement under the Rapid Credit Facility and Purchase under the Rapid Financing Instrument to Myanmar to Address the COVID-19 Pandemic.
This is the second IMF emergency financial assistance under the RFI/RCF for Myanmar since the outbreak of the pandemic: on June 26, 2020, the IMF Executive Board approved a disbursement of US$ 356.5 million (see IMF Press Release No. 20/247 ). Today’s additional financing brings the total IMF financial assistance provided to Myanmar to address COVID-19 pandemic to about US$ 700 million.
The Myanmar Project Bank (to facilitate investment in Myanmar)
The Myanmar Project Bank is an open, interactive, web-based platform designed to highlight investment projects which will further the implementation of the Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan 2018-2030.
Myanmar to Receive $2B in COVID-19 Relief from Int’l Development Organizations
YANGON—Myanmar is set to receive around US$2 billion from international development organizations to implement its COVID-19 Economic Relief Plan (CERP), which seeks to mitigate the economic impacts of the global pandemic.
Deputy Minister of Planning, Finance and Industry U Set Aung wrote on Facebook that at least four or five international development organizations, as yet unnamed, have already committed to support Myanmar’s economic relief plan.
U Set Aung said that the government is currently calculating how much of the budget for the plan will come from foreign aid and how much will come from budget re-allocation.
Launched by the Myanmar government in late April, the relief plan aims to help the country recover from the economic and social impacts of the global pandemic. The CERP includes a number of strategies and responses, including steps to re-allocate 10 percent of the 2019-20 budget for all government entities to the COVID-19 response fund.
According to the international organizations, Myanmar needs to spend US$2-3 billion to implement its action plans.
“At present, the country’s external debt to GDP ratio is less than 15 percent, and it is appropriate to take concessional loans,” U Set Aung said.
“At this time, [the country] does not want to reduce government spending, which is one of the major components of GDP. But government spending should be used effectively. The CERP will provide policy to direct current government spending,” the deputy minister said.
The Ministry of Planning, Finance and Industry (MOPFI) and the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relation (MIFER) organized a video conference last week to coordinate the views of international development partners. At the meeting, all development partners supported the CERP and agreed to provide assistance, according to the minister.
Myanmar Govt to Probe Fatal Shooting of WHO Driver Transporting COVID-19 Swabs
By ZARNI MANN 29 April 2020 MANDALAY—The Myanmar government on Tuesday announced the formation of an investigation committee to probe the death of a World Health Organization (WHO) driver who was killed in a shooting in Rakhine State. The WHO vehicle transporting swabs taken from 20 suspected COVID-19 patients from Rakhine State to Yangon was attacked on April 20. Driver U Pyae Sone Win Maung was fatally wounded and U Aung Myo Oo, a medical officer, was injured.