Pipeline that connects the Burmese Arakan State with the Chinese municipality of Kunming operational. Environmentalists speak of risks to the ecosystem, pro human rights activists ask for adequate compensation for land expropriation. Doubts about the beneficiaries of investment and funds pocketed by former members of the military junta.

Yangon (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Amid the discontent of the dispossessed farmers and activists' concerns about the environmental impact, the controversial pipeline linking Burma's Arakan State with the municipality of Kunming, in the south China is now operational. After years of work and billions of dollars of investment, the Shwe pipeline (800 km long) crosses the boundaries of Myanmar to supply energy industries in Beijing, but, according to critics, the civilian population of Burma will never reap the benefits from the investment in terms of revenues and use the energy produced and transported.

At full capacity, the pipeline will carry 12 billion cubic meters of gas, equal to 6% of China's total energy demand. In terms of income, at least 1.8 billion dollars a year will go into the pockets of the Burmese state-owned Moge company, although it is not clear how resources will be distributed and who the real beneficiaries of this huge flow of money are.

Management from Seagp consortium (Southeast Asia Gas Pipeline Company Limited), in charge of the project, explain that oil and gas taken from the plant will be channeled to Kyaukphyu on Chinese soil passing through a border crossing in Shan State. The project is a collaboration between the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and the Burmese Myanmar Oil & Gas Enterprise (Moge), linked to the former ruling military junta in Myanmar.

A second pipeline is currently under construction, which will instead be used to transport oil to supply the Chinese industries across the border. For the construction company, the pipeline is of mutual benefit" to the Burmese and Chinese governments and ensures at the same time underscores "good" relations marked by "collaboration" with the civilian population.

However, this has failed to stop the protests of critics, activists and environmentalists who denounce abuses and human rights violations, ridiculous compensation in the face of vast land seizures and damage to the natural heritage of the construction phase. They also complain about a lack of transparency on the part of the Burmese government, as confirmed by a recent survey, when it comes to investments in the energy sector. The Sino-Burmese Committee in charge of checking the pipeline has launched a campaign to collect signatures, asking for greater clarity on the part of the authorities and better controls in terms of safety, given that in previous weeks - during the testing - there were leaks.

 

• MYANMAR
• CHINA
• gas
• oil
• pipeline
• environemnt
• land
• expropriation
• human
• rights
• energy