Upper Yeywa hydropower project to be rebuilt following TNLA destruction
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Htet Nadi/Thant Zin (NP News)-Mar 9
A source close to the Ministry of Electric Power told The Statesman that in order to resume construction of the Upper Yeywa hydropower project, which was halted due to the war when it was more than 53 percent complete, the dams destroyed by the TNLA will have to be rebuilt.
The Tatmadaw retook Kyaukme town, which had been controlled by the TNLA, on October 1, 2025, and it has been more than five months now.
Then, the Upper Yeywa hydropower project, which is being implemented on the Myitnge River, about 20 miles south of Kyaukme Township, is reportedly working to recover funds to rebuild buildings within the project area that were destroyed by TNLA groups.
“The Upper Yeywa project is no longer in rebel hands, but it is not easy to restart. Rehabilitation is underway. Funds will have to be recovered. The buildings were burned down, so we will have to start over. The offices at the project site and in Kyaukme town were burned down, so we will have to start again,” he said.
The Upper Yeywa hydropower project was suspended for more than two years due to fighting, and when the project was suspended, more than 53 percent of the construction was completed.
“There is still a lot of reconstruction to do. I think it will take about two years and it is about half done. But many government offices were burned down. That is why it will take a long time,” said a resident of Kyaukme.
Once completed, the project will be able to generate an average of 1,409 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually.
Tthe generated electricity will then be distributed nationwide through the national grid system, providing power to 3.7 million people– equivalent to 6.6 percent of the country's total population. –