June Cement Industry Ltd has been granted a license from the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC). However, it has yet to begin operation, since it has not received permission from the union government to use coal-powered electricity.

The June Cement Industry Ltd, which will operate near PyarTaung area, KawPaNaw Village, Kyaikmayaw Township, Mon State, will need 15 megawatts of electricity, and will use two coal-powered electric plants.

“We have already requested permission from the union government to use coal-powered plants. We’ve heard that other companies faced some problems, because they went ahead without having permission. Right now, we have not got permission from the union government yet, we cannot explain about this yet,” said U Tin Oo, Managing Director of June Cement Industry Ltd.

The June Cement Company held an event as part of the initial environmental analysis of the cement plant, in Makro Village, Kyaikmaraw Township, on June 15. Managing Director U Tin Oo, presented at the event.

“When we talk about coal-powered supply, people, mostly, see it as negative. When we do, we cannot do whatever we want. There is a guidebook published by the government called National Environment Liquid and Vapor Emission. In the book, there is a section explaining how much vapor can be emitted for the project. If it is exceeded, at the stated level, the company will face a shutdown.”

At the event on June 15th, the company officials only talked about their services from Proton Bridge Construction, Cannel Construction, Laterite Production, and Clay Drilling. But they did not explain the coal power plant that they would use and said they would only talk about it when asked, according to Nai Shwe Win, member of PyarTaung Area Development Organization from Makro Village.

Nai Shwe Win continued “Although they did not inform the public about using the coal power supply, they are talking about it. But they give reason that at the moment, they have not got other kinds of electricity generators, so they have to use coal-powered electricity. They know that the people will stage a protest if they use coal-power. So, they left it undisclosed.”

Nai Shwe Win expressed his worries that at the moment, the Mawlamyine Cement Limited (MCL), which is operating with coal-powered electricity, has been running vessels carrying its products through the Kyaikkami River mouth to the Thanlwin (Salween) and Attran river. Similarly, the June Cement Industry Ltd will also operate and travel through the Attran river. Thus, the flow of the Attran River may be affected.

According to the local residents, when the ships carrying coal travel through the Attran River during the rainy season, they cause water to flood the river bank, which causes damage to houses located near the bank, such as cracked walls.

The Myanmar-Korea Cement Group, in the southern part of the Attran River, and the Mawlamyine Cement Ltd and June Cement Industry Ltd, in the northern part of Attran River, have respectively been granted permission to extracting limestone from Pyartaung Mountain for cement production.

June Cement Industry Ltd has invested 471 million USD and plans to produce 5000 tons of cement on daily basis.