Buthidaung: Construction of the Sai Din hydropower plant in northern Arakan State has resumed in March 2009. It is to generate power for distribution in Arakan, said an engineer in the Buthidaung municipal office.

"The project has already begun with the help of the Chinese government. It is a five-year project set to be completed in 2014," he said.

The Sai Din hydropower project site is located 30 miles southeast of Buthidaung, a town in northern Arakan State.

"The project is situated on the Sai Din Waterfall, the largest waterfall in Arakan. It is estimated to generate 70 megawatts of power," he added.

Burmese governments in the past, including the U Nu government, tried to set up a hydropower plant on the Said Din Waterfall but was unsuccessful due to a number of obstacles.

In 1952, a foreign engineer was killed by a group from the Burma Communist Party while he was working on a hydropower project in the area. After the incident, the government stopped the work on the project.

In 1988, soon after the SLORC took over power, the regime announced that it would set up a hydropower plant at the waterfall but three years later the project was postponed for unknown reasons.

The Burmese military junta resumed the project this year after the Arakanese community blamed the junta for neglecting Arakan's development and the only two-hour supply of electricity that Arakanese towns receive every day.

"I'm sure this time the junta will set up the power plant despite previous projects failing, because many materials are arriving at the construction site and many engineers are working at the site now," the engineer said.

The Burmese military junta announced publicly in January 2009 that the government would  set up two large projects - the Sai Din hydropower plant and a railway route - in Arakan State, to develop the region.

Many Arakanese people believe the government announcement is just intended to garner support for the pro-military government party in the 2010 elections.