Thai firm to build power plants in Myanmar

Thailand's Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding will build power plants in Myanmar.

This is a part of its 12 billion baht or US$390 million power investments next year.

The group has signed an agreement with Italian-Thai Development Pcl to build coal-fired power plants with a combined capacity of 4,000 megawatts at Dawei in Myanmaer.

Company President Noppol Milinthanggoon said Ratchaburi would have a 30 percent stake in the project, while Italian-Thai will hold the other 70 percent.

Noppol said they would build three small power plants with combined capacity of 400 megawatts in the first phase. Construction is expected to begin next year and be completed in 2014, with investment of $2 million per megawatt.

The remaining 3,600 MW would be gradually built in two phases with three 600-MW power plants each and it needed investment of $1.5 million per megawatt, Noppol said.

Ratchaburi, like other major Thai utilities, is looking for growth opportunities abroad to boost capacity and has said power plants in Laos, Australia and the Philippines were targets.

The utility expected its installed capacity to rise to 5,180 MW by the end of 2011 due to new, 830 megawatt capacity and the number would rise to 6,660 MW, it said.

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