Myanmar has added three more hydropower plants in western Rakhine state to fulfill the electricity demand in the region, sources with the Ministry of Electric Power said on Monday.

The hydropower projects namely Saidin, Thahtay Chaung and Laymyomyit, cost over US$800 million in total, the sources said, adding that these plants can produce 687 megawatt (mw) after completion.

The electricity consumption of the whole Rakhine region takes up only 30 megawatt and the surplus electricity will be distributed to other divisions and states, business and industrial enterprises, it added.

In May this year, Myanmar added a 600-mw hydropower station, the Shweli-1, in the northern part of Shan state.

Meanwhile, Myanmar's biggest hydropower plant, Yeywa, in Mandalay division, which has a capacity of 790 mw, is nearing completion, an earlier report said.

Up to now, Myanmar has a total installed generating capacity of1,684 mw. In 2008-09, it generated 6.62 billion kwh of electricity, according to official statistics.

(Xinhua News Agency December 7, 2009)