Myanmar Junta Steps Up Push to Revive Controversial Myitsone Dam, Rights Group Warns

Myanmar’s military regime has intensified efforts to rally public support for reviving the long-suspended Myitsone Dam project following a high-level visit to China, prompting severe warnings from human rights and environmental advocates.

According to the Kachin Human Rights Watch (KHRW), the junta's push gained momentum after junta chief Min Aung Hlaing and Kachin State Chief Minister Khet Htein Nan visited China in June.

Desperate for Beijing’s backing, the regime is actively seeking to build public momentum to restart the Chinese-invested hydropower development.

Planned at the confluence of the Mali and N’Mai rivers—which join to form the Ayeyarwady River, Myanmar’s most vital waterway—the massive project was suspended in 2011 by former President Thein Sein following widespread nationwide outrage.

"The coup regime has been trying for a long time to win public support for the Myitsone Dam project," said Ko Jacob, a spokesperson for KHRW. "After Min Aung Hlaing returned from China, we saw a much stronger push to lure people into supporting the project. The junta badly wants public support because it hopes to appease China and get this major Chinese-invested project running again."

To orchestrate the campaign, the regime has formed a 10-member committee to mobilize public backing.

The committee organized at least five rallies in July across downtown wards of Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, and plans to conduct more than 50 additional gatherings across the state, including in nearby Waingmaw Township.

KHRW has urged the public to resist the junta's campaign, warning that the dam threatens the livelihoods of millions dependent on the Ayeyarwady River and poses severe risks to national security. Environmental activists further cautioned that the project would submerge sacred Kachin cultural heritage sites and cause irreversible damage to downstream agriculture and ecosystems.

The broader Upstream Ayeyarwady Hydropower Development comprises seven planned sub-projects: the Chipwi, Laiza (Maliyang), Wutsok, Khaunglanhpu, Renam, Hpizaw, and Myitsone dams, with Myitsone serving as the largest centerpiece.