Activists and civil society organizations in Myanmar are calling for nationwide opposition to the military junta’s renewed efforts to revive the controversial Myitsone Dam project.
Critics warn that allowing construction to proceed under military rule would cause irreversible damage to the country's main river ecosystem and long-term national security.
The massive, multi-billion-dollar hydropower project, located at the headwaters of the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) River in northern Kachin State, has been suspended since 2011 following intense public outcry during the semi-civilian administration of former President U Thein Sein.
However, the military regime has recently reached an agreement with China to resume and complete the construction within eight and a half years, according to U Khet Htein Nan, the junta-appointed Chief Minister of Kachin State.
During a local inspection in late June, the official claimed the dam would be engineered to withstand earthquakes and monitored 24/7 via satellite to ensure safety.
Civil society groups and political analysts view the junta's sudden push as a calculated move to secure Beijing's backing and lock in major infrastructure agreements before the country's political future is decided amidst the ongoing civil war.
Daw Hnin Hnin Hmwe, joint general secretary of the Democratic Party for a New Society (DPNS), speaking at a recent press conference on transitional political arrangements, warned that if the junta succeeds in pushing this through quickly, the post-revolution consequences could be devastating for the entire country.
She also criticized former opponents of the dam who are now lobbying for the project after joining the military administration.
Resisting the project carries severe personal risk, especially after the junta issued a decree in December 2025 threatening legal action against anyone opposing state development projects.
Despite the threat of imprisonment, activists vow to continue their resistance.
Ko Jacob, spokesperson for the Kachin Human Rights Watch (KHRW), dismissed the junta's safety claims as misleading propaganda and stated that organizations will continue working together with the people until the Myitsone Dam project is permanently halted.
Environmentalists and resource justice advocates further warn that the mega-dam project—which includes a cascade of seven planned dams—poses an existential threat to the livelihoods of millions.
The project is expected to displace indigenous communities, submerge ancestral lands, and disrupt the natural flow of the Ayeyarwady River, the biological lifeline of Myanmar.
The downstream impact could severely threaten food security in a country already reeling from economic collapse.
U Zon Htang, an environmental justice advocate, noted that the Ayeyarwady Region was historically known as Asia’s rice granary, but rice production has already declined significantly in recent years.
He warned that disrupting the natural flow at the headwaters will inevitably cause a sharp decline in agricultural output in the downstream delta, impacting all 50 million people across the country.
Originally backed by China’s state-owned State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC), the Myitsone Dam has long been a flashpoint of anti-junta sentiment and environmental activism in Myanmar, symbolizing the exploitation of local natural resources by foreign interests under military dictatorship.
