Myanmar: Hungry for Power, Myanmar Bets on Hydro in New Energy Plan

Sep 11, 2016 | Shwe Yee Saw Myint and Antoni Slodkowski, Reuters
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Electricity-starved Myanmar is looking to overhaul its long-term power strategy, aiming to hike the planned share of hydropower in its energy mix at the cost of polluting coal as it tries to attract foreign investment. The new democratically-elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi has made job creation one of its top priorities in what is Asia's sixth-poorest country. However, with half of its people without access to electricity and major cities experiencing blackouts, finding investors is tough. Even tougher is getting them to back coal-fired plants given environmental concerns.