"Myanmar is rushing ahead with a major solar power initiative amid the Covid-19 pandemic, giving potential investors just a month to submit bids and raising questions about the tender’s intent and viability. The Ministry of Electricity and Energy published a notice on its official Facebook page dated May 18 inviting companies to submit pre-qualifying bids to construct solar energy plants on a 20-year concession basis. The ministry will buy power from 30 “designated connection points” on a build-operate-own basis, according to the announcement. The tender deadline is June 18, giving investors one month to assemble and submit their bids, a fast-tracked time table that is raising concerns about non-competive bidding and possible related land-grabbing. The tender document, reviewed by Asia Times, includes 30 solar plants ranging from 30 to 50 megawatts (MW), with a combined capacity of 1060 MW. That’s equivalent to one third of the country’s current dry season available capacity of 3,100 MW. That capacity, the ministry says, is generated by 20 gas-fired, 62 hydropower and one coal-fired plant. Developers are required to start operating the plants within 180 days after an official letter of acceptance is issued, with stiff financial penalities for non-production after the deadline, according to the document. More controversially, bidders are required to include evidence of prior land acquisition for solar plant sites in their proposals..."