Chaungzone Township’s government-supplied electricity project is underway, but it does not have a sufficient budget, according to Mon State’s Minister for Electricity and Industry Nai Lawe Aung.
“There is no budget for some parts of the project. Right now, we only have a budget for two poles out of five; we don’t have a budget for the other three poles. The project will be carried out based on the allocated budget, then we can tell when the electricity will be accessible,” said Nai Lawe Aung.
The minister added that the Union Government is still negotiating the budget for electricity poles which will connect Moulmein, the capital of Mon State, across the Salween River to Chaungzone Township.
The Union Government itself is taking responsibility for the Chaungzone Township electricity project, and is working hard to provide the township with access to electricity for the 2014-2015 fiscal years.
“We will connect [the poles with cables] in 2014, and will distribute the electricity in 2015. It is estimated that the project will be completed this year. Now, seven poles have already been partially installed,” said Dr. Aung Naing Oo, Chaungzone Township representative for Mon State Hluttaw.
Dr. Aung Naing Oo continued that 66-KV cables would be used to connect Moulmein to Chaungzone Township, located on Bluekyun Island. About twenty poles, each 60 meters high, will be installed in coastal areas, while 28 70-meter poles and three tower-poles will be installed across the Salween River.
Last May, government staff members began drawing maps and choosing locations for installation of electricity poles.
According to preliminary census data released by the Ministry of Population and Immigration, Chaungzone Township has 45 village tracks, comprising 78 villages, and 1.1 hundred thousand families with a total population of 1.2 hundred thousand people.
