Democratic Party-Myanmar (DPM) has sent a letter to the Chief Minister of Tenasserim division calling for the suspension of an eight-megawatt coal plant in Kawthaung township that is set to become operational soon.
Cho Cho Kyaw Nyein, general secretary of the DPM, said the party is asking that the coal plant be relocated because it’s located between two residential wards in Kawthaung. The party claims the facility threatens the locals’ health and will damage the environment.
“The plant is located in the residential area and causing respiratory problems among many locals,” said Cho Cho Kyaw Nyein. “There have been a lot of complaints about this so we are bringing this up to the divisional Chief Minister and he promised to pass this to senior government authorities.”
The DPM has distributed leaflets in Kawthaung raising awareness concerning the negative impacts that can arise from breathing carbon monoxide and pollutants expelled from the factory.
The plant is about 90 percent completed. The factory’s manager and local ward authorities defended the project and said the plant would be provide electricity to local residents when completed.
There have been rumours circulating in Kawthaung that the facility was relocated from Thailand’s Prachuap Khiri Khan several years ago after being closed in the wake of public outcry.
A report in Thai newspaper The Nation said that residents of Ranong, which lies close to the Thai border opposite Kawthaung, had grown increasingly anxious about coal dust drifting into their airspace.
