Explosions rattle villagers near pipeline route in Shan State

Explosions rattle villagers near pipeline route in Shan State

Published on Wednesday, 10 April 2013 16:18

Residents living along the route of the Shwe gas pipeline in Shan State are alarmed by recent explosions and concerns are rising that more may occur when the dual pipeline starts transporting oil and gas to China, members of the Ta'ang Students and Youth Organisation said.

"There was an explosion in Nahkan while cleaning the pipeline on February 28. Another explosion occurred near Namtu on March 13 while digging the pipeline. Although no one was injured, we know that [the company] has not done anything for safety and environmental protection. Locals are worried that really bad incidents will happen when petrol and natural gas are transported [to China]," Lway Kwe, a member of the group, told a press conference in Yangon yesterday.

The pipeline affects 51 villages in the six townships of Shan State that it passes through, another member of the group, Mine Myo Aung, said.

Other group members said that compensation for farmland expropriated for the pipeline was only one-third of its market value.

The Thai-based Shwe Gas Movement, a coalition of activists campaigning against the pipeline, said the company that will operate the pipeline needs to explain the environmental impact assessment to affected villagers as well as potential dangers before it begins operating the pipeline.

The coalition also called for a review of compensation for the expropriated land in 21 townships as the amount set aside to cover this accounts for just 0.013 per cent of the entire project's budget.

The controversial project comprises two 800-kilometre pipelines, one for natural gas and the other for crude oil, which will run alongside each other from the coastal township of Kyaunkphyu in Rakhine State through Mandalay Region and Shan State before entering China's Yunnan province.

The project is a joint venture between China National Petroleum Corporation's South East Asia Pipeline and the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise, with the former holding 50.9 percent of the project and the latter the rest.

Concern over the project increased after CNCP project manager Cheng Huan Lai said that the pipeline had been placed just 1.2 meters below ground to cut costs. Some environmentalists recommended that it be buried at a depth of five meters, saying this was the international standard.

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2013/04/10/explosions-rattle-villagers-near-pipeline-route-in-shan-state/