Myanmar-Yunnan railway canceled due to public opposition

[BoQ77]

Myanmar-Yunnan railway canceled due to public opposition

• Staff Reporter
• 2014-07-23
• 10:43 (GMT+8)

Vehicles on the Honghe (Red River) Bridge in Yunnan province on, a section of the Yuanyu highway connecting Kunming and Bangkok, June 5. Various highways and railways are being built to connect southern China with Southeast Asian countries. (Photo/Xinhua)

Construction of a railway connecting Kyaukpyu in Myanmar and Kunming in China was cancelled last Friday due to public opposition, the Myanmar Ministry of Rail Transportation told Eleven Media Group based in Yangon on July 20.

China signed a memorandum with Myanmar in April 2011 to build the Kyaukpyu-Kunming railway. The planned line would pass through Rakhine state, Magway region, Mandalay region and Shan state before crossing the border into Yunnan province in southwestern China. The line has significant strategic importance to China as a alternative to the Strait of Malacca as a route to the Middle East.

Under the agreement, China earmarked about US$20 billion for the railway's construction and would have the right to manage and operate the railway for 50 years.

The project has drawn domestic opposition from the public as well as civic organizations however and construction, which China Railway Engineering Corporation expected to take three years, has never got underway.

Myint Wai, director of Myanmar's Ministry of Rail Transportation, said China has not renewed the Kyaukpyu-Kunming railway project and let the memorandum of understanding on the project expire. A source from China Railway Engineering Corporation told China's Global Times that Beijing will fully respect the public opinion from Myanmar regarding construction of the railway, though no official response from the Chinese government has been reported.

 

[Kolaps]

US lead public protest and media... as usual.

 

[BDforever]

Myanmar-Yunnan railway canceled due to public opposition

• Staff Reporter
• 2014-07-23
• 10:43 (GMT+8)

Vehicles on the Honghe (Red River) Bridge in Yunnan province on, a section of the Yuanyu highway connecting Kunming and Bangkok, June 5. Various highways and railways are being built to connect southern China with Southeast Asian countries. (Photo/Xinhua)

Construction of a railway connecting Kyaukpyu in Myanmar and Kunming in China was cancelled last Friday due to public opposition, the Myanmar Ministry of Rail Transportation told Eleven Media Group based in Yangon on July 20.

China signed a memorandum with Myanmar in April 2011 to build the Kyaukpyu-Kunming railway. The planned line would pass through Rakhine state, Magway region, Mandalay region and Shan state before crossing the border into Yunnan province in southwestern China. The line has significant strategic importance to China as a alternative to the Strait of Malacca as a route to the Middle East.

Under the agreement, China earmarked about US$20 billion for the railway's construction and would have the right to manage and operate the railway for 50 years.

The project has drawn domestic opposition from the public as well as civic organizations however and construction, which China Railway Engineering Corporation expected to take three years, has never got underway.

Myint Wai, director of Myanmar's Ministry of Rail Transportation, said China has not renewed the Kyaukpyu-Kunming railway project and let the memorandum of understanding on the project expire. A source from China Railway Engineering Corporation told China's Global Times that Beijing will fully respect the public opinion from Myanmar regarding construction of the railway, though no official response from the Chinese government has been reported.

what was the problem ? don't burmese ppl want good communication network for trade ?

 

[cnleio]

The Myanmar is instability, recent years their military government in Rangoon changed to pro-West. Many places at the North of Myanmar not controlled by military government, there'r small kingdoms of local ethnic armed groups.

It's no surprise that Burmese cancel Myanmar-Yunnan railway.

 

[Lux de Veritas]

Actually Burmese government is not really anti China. A lot of cancellation of mega projects of Sino-Burmese cooperation is because many of such projects traverse through insurgence area.

Unless a deal is made with all party, it will not materialize.

The Burmese government cancelled the China funded Myitsone Dam project and then protray themselves as nationalist against China. In reality, the project is stalled for many other reasons, one of it is because a deal cannot be reached with Kachin rebels.

 

[BoQ77]

This term is quite unacceptable

Under the agreement, China earmarked about US$20 billion for the railway's construction and would have the right to manage and operate the railway for 50 years.

 

[Genesis]

This term is quite unacceptable

Well they can also just pay back the 20 billion with interest, low interest. $20 billion is more than 10% of Vietnam economy, it's not a small amount.

We are still a developing nation, not America, we can't go around handing out 20 billions like they can.

As much as it will benefit China, it will benefit them more, since it's in their country, even investment companies now days want a stake rather than payment.

Investing in Myanmar is high risk, and I mean very high risk.

 

[Hypersonicmissiles]

This term is quite unacceptable

I agree, it should have been 100 years.

 

[BoQ77]

Well they can also just pay back the 20 billion with interest, low interest. $20 billion is more than 10% of Vietnam economy, it's not a small amount.

We are still a developing nation, not America, we can't go around handing out 20 billions like they can.

As much as it will benefit China, it will benefit them more, since it's in their country, even investment companies now days want a stake rather than payment.

Investing in Myanmar is high risk, and I mean very high risk.

We cannot make sure how the project benefit to Myanmar, once the wholly control by China for entire 50 years.
The controller will use that for their purpose, may give priority to transport Chinese cargos only.
Same to Kunming - Haiphong, China also suggest to improve the railway, stretch about over 300 km on Vietnam land.

The Yunnan–Vietnam Railway (Chinese: 滇越铁路; pinyin: Dian–Yue tielu; Vietnamese: tuyến đường sắt Hải Phòng - Vân Nam/ 綫塘鐵海防－雲南; French: Chemins de Fer de L'Indo-Chine et du Yunnan, "Indo-Chinese–Yunnan Railroad") is an 855 km railway built by France during 1904-1910, connecting Haiphong, Vietnam with Kunming, Yunnan province, China. The section within China from Kunming to Hekou is known as the Kunming–Hekou Railway (Chinese: 昆河铁路; pinyin: Kun–He tielu), and is 466 km long. The section within Vietnam is 389 km long, and is considered a part of Hanoi–Lào Cai Railway

 

[Lux de Veritas]

The project requires significant civil engineering effort especially on China side. From Kunming to Myanmar a lot of mountains. When the project was announced, I am really amazed with the engineering erndeavour of China.

It requires a lot of investment. The investment pay backs mainly not in the form of business sense but more of linking China closely with Myanmar.

Even this is a money losing business, it is still very much worthwhile to pursue.

 

[sweetgrape]

We cannot make sure how the project benefit to Myanmar, once the wholly control by China for entire 50 years.
The controller will use that for their purpose, may give priority to transport Chinese cargos only.
Same to Kunming - Haiphong, China also suggest to improve the railway, stretch about over 300 km on Vietnam land.

I find your thought always ridiculous, not only this one, don't know whether you know what is business, if you don't agree, you can pay 20 billion, then the management right belong to you.

You are afraid of China getting more benefit( you keep eyes on these, always think China has conspiracy) from the corporation.

Loser seeks for excuse, success seek for method.

 

[asad71]

Unless Burma solves issues with the Arakanese/Rohingyas any link with BD cannot materialize.

 

[BoQ77]

I find your thought always ridiculous, not only this one, don't know whether you know what is business, if you don't agree, you can pay 20 billion, then the management right belong to you.

You are afraid of China getting more benefit( you keep eyes on these, always think China has conspiracy) from the corporation.

Loser seeks for excuse, success seek for method.

simply thinking that 50 year of operation mean too much.
while the main purpose is finding way to sea for deep-in-continent areas of China.

Myanmar would easily find credit of some billions to just build short-distance railway near their coastal town. Why they must waste their money to build the railway mainly for Yunnan demand?

 

[rohailmalhi]

simply thinking that 50 year of operation mean too much.
while the main purpose is finding way to sea for deep-in-continent areas of China.

Myanmar would easily find credit of some billions to just build short-distance railway near their coastal town. Why they must waste their money to build the railway mainly for Yunnan demand?

It is called BOT - Built Operate and Transfer.

China will invest everything in the project , they will run it so that they can recover the initial amount plus the interest . After a fixed period of time the operation are transferred to the country.

Otherwise if you so much want the control over the operation of the railway , spend money for your part and then recover it yourself.

 

[BoQ77]

There's an idea that the cancellation of railway project because of delaying by China side ...
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A China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) Oil Pipeline In Myanmar May Fizzle, Following Cutback In Chinese Energy Development
By Sophie Song@SophieXSong
on February 27 2014 9:56 AM

Oil workers conduct maintenance on an oil well in Myanmar's Chauk. Reuters
A multibillion-dollar Chinese-funded oil terminal and pipeline in Myanmar may not be built, after a major processing refinery project in China was shelved as part of a wider cutback in energy development.

The refinery in the province of Yunnan, which borders on Myamnar, was suspended following street protests last year over pollution worries, the Irrawaddy reported Thursday. Due to the delays, the refinery will not be built before 2016, if at all. Previously, the China National Petroleum Corporation-developed refinery, which would have been able to process 200,000 barrels of oil per day, was expected to begin operations this year.

“The shelving of the large refinery in Kunming is now part of a wide-ranging cutback in energy developments in China,” Collin Reynolds, an independent energy industries consultant and analyst, told the Irrawaddy. “It is one of a number of major refineries and petrochemical projects being delayed or canceled.”

CNPC’s 900-kilometer (559.23-mile) oil pipeline that runs through Myanmar, with a transmission capacity of 440,000 barrels per day, is still under construction and may now be delayed as a result of the Yunnan refinery's stall. The company originally planned to transmit nearly half of the 22 million tonnes (24.25 million tons) of crude oil it imports from the Middle East and Africa through the Burmese pipeline to Yunnan.

“Of course, China is still a huge consumer of oil and gas, and that 
isn’t going to change overnight,” Reynolds said. “All the same, the slowdown means that the multibillion-dollar pipeline and port developments in Burma are certainly not so important now.”

China’s economy has been slowing down for the past two years, and in 2013, Chinese consumption of gasoline and diesel grew at its slowest pace in 20 years. Nonetheless, refinery construction is just now waking up to the slowdown, resulting in some overcapacity that ended up hurting margins.

The oil pipeline in Myanmar has been mired in its own controversies involving human rights and land grabs, the Irrawaddy reported. Much like its sister Shwe natural gas pipeline, which also runs to Yunnan province, the oil pipeline has allegedly displaced local Burmese without due compensation.

The Shwe pipeline has been in operation for only a few months, but already there are allegations that it's unsafe, and possibly has cracks.