YANGON, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar has made emphasis on development of hydroelectric power, saying that 15 more hydropower projects are being planned in addition to the six completed and 22ongoing projects since the country laid down a series of state-level special projects which also include hydropower ones for the development of the sector.

    The 15 hydropower projects will be implemented by the Ministry of Electric Power-1 on approval by the government's Special Projects Implementation Committee, headed by Senior-General Than Shwe, Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council.

    The 15 hydropower projects, with an installed capacity ranging from 48 megawatts (mw) to 2,800 mw, lie in seven divisions and states.

    Of the projects, seven are located in the northernmost Kachin state, six of which range over 1,200 mw, the report said, adding that the rest of the projects are scattered in Sagaing, Mandalay, Magway and Bago divisions, and Rakhine and northern Shan states.

    The 15 projects on completion in the future will add 13,847 mw to the country's installed capacity as predicted.

    The government claimed that since the committee was established, six hydropower plant projects with a total of 442 mw have been finished which are known as Zawgyi-2, Zaungtu, Thaphanseik, Monechaung, Paunglaung and Yenwe.

    "A large number of special projects have been completed and the people have witnessed and enjoyed the benefits of the projects," the Myanmar top leader said at the committee's coordination meeting in the last few days, stressing the need to speedily implement the ongoing state-designated special projects for the benefit of the people.

    The 22 ongoing hydropower projects will also add a total 16,599mw more to the country's electric power installed capacity on completion, according to estimation.

    Meanwhile, Myanmar claimed in its monthly statistical report that the country's electric power installed capacity reached total of over 1,690 mw as of April 2008 and the power generated stood 6.603 billion kwh in 2007-08, up from 6.172 billion kwh in 2006-07.

    In recent years, companies from Thailand, China, South Korea, Bangladesh and India were engaged in Myanmar's hydropower projects in response to the country's invitation of foreign investment in the sector.

    Major hydropower projects that Thailand is involved go to the 7,110-mw Tar-hsan's on Myanmar's Thanlwin River in eastern Shan state's Tachilek which started in April 2007 by Myanmar and the MDX Group Co Ltd of Thailand under a 6-billion-US-dollar contract reached in April 2006.

    The hydropower plant will produce 35.446 billion kwh a year, according to the contract.

    The 6-billion-dollar Thai investment in the Tar-hsan hydro power project had sharply raised Myanmar's contracted foreign investment to 14.736 billion dollars as of the end of 2007, a record high since late 1988.

    Another Thai-engaged hydropower project is the 600-mw Hutgyi's on Myanmar's Thanlwin River being implemented by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) under an agreement signed in December 2005. It can produce 3.82 billion kilowatt hours (kwh) yearly.

    The project constitutes part of those on the Thanlwin and Tanintharyi Rivers agreed earlier between the two countries in June 2005.

    Power generated from these projects is expected to be partly exported to Thailand.

    Besides, Myanmar has signed five contracts respectively with some Chinese companies since 2004 on the implementation of the country's 790-mw Yeywa hydropower project on the Myitnge River which can generate 3.55 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually upon completion.

    Other China-involved hydropower projects went to Upper Paunglaung by the Yunnan Machinery and Equipment Import and ExportCo Ltd (YMEC) and the Upper Thanlwin by the Farsighted Investment Group Co Ltd and Gold Water Resources Ltd.

    Moreover, the China Power Investment Corporation (CPI) was alsoreportedly to build seven hydropower projects for Myanmar on the confluence of Ayeyawaddy river and Maykha and Malikha rivers in Kachin state with a combined capacity of 13,360 mw.

    In September this year, India's National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd took up two projects, namely the 1,200-mw Htamanthi and the 600-mw Shwesayay, while in October, the Italian-Thai Development Public Co. Ltd and the Windfall Energy Services Ltd of British Virgin Island launched a hydropower project of 600 mw in Myanmar's southern Tanintharyi division.

    Besides, Myanmar and Bangladesh are enhancing cooperation in seeking to build hydropower plants in Myanmar for export of electricity to Bangladesh. The exploration has identified potential sites for such move in some areas in two states in western and northwestern parts of the country.

    According to the government's National Investment Commission, the electric power sector dominated foreign investment in Myanmar with 6.311 billion U.S. dollars as of the end of 2007.

    With rich water resources, Myanmar possesses great potential for the development of its hydropower sector to resolve its power shortage issue.