Sembcorp signs agreement for US$300m power plant in Myanmar

SEMBCORP Industries on Monday said its wholly owned subsidiary, Sembcorp Utilities, has signed a memorandum of agreement with Myanmar's Department of Electric Power Planning to invest in and develop a US$300 million gas-fired power plant in central Myanmar.

The signing of the memorandum of agreement followed Sembcorp receiving the notice of award to develop and operate the power plant in April this year.

Located in the Myingyan district of the Mandalay division, the 225-megawatt facility will be the largest gas-fired independent power plant in Myanmar when completed in 2018, and will ease the country's severe power deficit, Sembcorp Industries said.

The build-operate-transfer project was awarded after an international bidding process, and advised by International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group. Sembcorp will have an 80 per cent stake in this project, while its partner MMID Utilities will hold the remaining 20 per cent.

The project will supply power to Myanma Electric Power Enterprise (MEPE) under a 22-year power purchase agreement, with the Ministry of Electric Power of Myanmar guaranteeing MEPE's obligations under the power purchase agreement.