The government has given three Japanese firms and a Myanmar partner approval to proceed with what will be one of the largest gas-fired power plants in the country. The liquid natural gas (LNG) plant will be located in Yangon Region’s Thilawa Special Economic Zone and generate 1250 megawatts of power, according to LNG Industry, a trade publication. Japan-listed Marubeni Corporation, Sumitomo Corporation and Mitsui & Co. will partner with Myanmar’s Eden Group on the project, which includes a 25-year power purchase agreement with the state-owned Electric Power Generation Enterprise.

Over the past decade, Japan has worked to establish itself in Yangon and southern Myanmar, an economic check against China, which dominates trade and foreign investments in Mandalay and northern Myanmar. In addition to its power generation ambitions, Japan has also invested heavily in power distribution infrastructure, especially in Yangon. On the production side, however, China still dominates Myanmar’s LNG industry. In September 2019, a JV between Hong Kong’s VPower Group and China National Technical Import and Export Cooperation won three out of five emergency government LNG tenders. Last month, that JV began producing power at its own LNG plant in Yangon.