Leyla Özay
Technical sectretary
The Inland Water Transport Authority (IWT) in Myanmar is preparing a project for year-round safe and reliable river transport on the Chindwin River in the Sagaing Region. With this project, the IWT will introduce and operate new shallow draft passenger ferries and establish adequate mooring facilities at nine landing sites. Annual hotspot dredging will also be required to enable navigation in parts of the river that turn shallow in the dry season. The NCEA advised on both the scoping and the ESIA report of this project. Our advice mainly revolved around potential impacts from dredging on biodiversity and safety risks related to the preferred ferry type.
Significant details
The project will replace IWT's present ferry service with a new intercity ferry service to connect towns between Hkmati in the North and Monywa in the South. After reviewing the scoping and the ESIA report, our key recommendations included that:
- The justification for the preferred ferry type is strengthened through a better comparison of ferry design alternatives. Also that the safety risks associated with the preferred fibre-reinforced plastic ferries are assessed and mitigated.
- The high biodiversity value between Homalin, Hta Man Thi and Hkamti river stretch is recognized and taken into account in the design and planning of dredging activities.
- Institutional arrangements are made with and adequate support is provided to the Directorate of Water Resources and Improvement of River Systems (DWIR) to implement the mitigation measures and plans formulated in the ESIA.