Since June, Myanmar’s military government has increased its efforts to restart a massive, controversial hydropower project backed by China that has remained suspended for 15 years.
The Myitsone Dam project, launched in 2009 and estimated to cost $3.6 billion then, was to be built along the Mali River, the N’mai River, and their confluence at Myitsone, where the Ayeyarwady River begins. Planned in Kachin state in an earthquake-prone area in northern Myanmar, the project is owned by Upstream Ayeyarwady Confluence Basin Hydropower Company, which is jointly owned by China’s Power Investment Corporation, Myanmar’s Ministry of Electric Power and Asia World Company. The dam was designed to be 1,310 meters (4,298 feet) long and 139.6 meters (458 feet) high.
In 2011, then-President Thein Sein suspended the project after widespread public opposition due to its environmental and social impacts.
However, at a June 30 press conference in Naypyidaw, the junta’s spokesperson, Khaing Khaing Soe, stated that the Myitsone project would be resumed to generate electricity for Myanmar.
The chief minister of Kachin state, Khet Htein Nan, also promoted the project during a public meeting in the state on June 23, offering incentives about electricity and adding that the dam will be built to withstand earthquakes and there will be no need to worry about flooding. He further said that if construction begins this year, the project could be completed within 8.5 years.
These statements follow junta leader-turned-President Min Aung Hlaing’s visit to China in early June.
The head of the junta’s Myitsone Project Implementation Committee said on his social media account that between January and the end of July 2026, authorities had held 38 meetings with local communities regarding the project.
Jacob, a spokesperson for the Kachin Human Rights Watch who uses only one name, told Mongabay by phone that these meetings do not reflect the genuine will of the people, but instead are intended to coerce public endorsement, constituting a violation of citizens’ basic rights.
“The Myitsone area and the Ayeyarwady River are part of the heritage of not only the local communities but also the entire people of Myanmar,” he said. “By proceeding with this project, the military is destroying our natural heritage. At the same time, it is violating the property rights of the people.”
In December, the Myanmar military issued a statement warning legal action against individuals and organizations opposing its projects.
Kenneth Ray Olson, professor emeritus at the University of Illinois, U.S., who has researched the Irrawady River Delta, told Mongabay by email that the construction of Myitsone dams could reduce the amount of water flowing downstream during floods and stop nutrient-rich mud and sand from reaching the delta, affecting farming and the health of the river.
Until now, the terms of the project agreement have not been disclosed to the public.
Mongabay contacted the junta’s spokesperson and the head of the Myitsone Project Implementation Committee in Kachin state but hadn’t heard back by the time of publishing.
Banner image: Activists in Myanmar protest against the Myitsone Dam project in this 2019 file photo. Image by AP Photo/Thein Zaw.
