"Over the past decade, plans for 13 hydropower projects have been proposed for the Salween River in China and another six in the lower reaches of the river in Burma and at the border of Thailand-Burma. Very little information about the projects has been disclosed to the public. Unrest in the ethnic states of Burma has also hampered independent efforts to gather information but Thai and Burmese state and private agencies have also made little effort share the information. In August 2013, according to a high ranking official in Burma?s Ministry of Electric Power, six hydropower projects are being developed onBurma?s Salween River including the Upper Salween Dam, also known as Kunlong Dam (1,400 MW), Nong Pha Dam (1,000 MW), Mai Tong Dam also known as Tasang Dam (7,110 MW), Manntaung on a tributary of the Salween (200 MW) (the four dams are located in Shan State), Ywathit Dam in Kayah (Karenni) State (4,000 MW) and Hat Gyi Dam in Karen State (1,360 MW). The projects are being developed jointly between Chinese corporations, Thailand?s EGAT International Co., Ltd. and Burmese investors. Once the project agreements are signed it is estimated that it will take about 4 to 10 years to complete construction. A Thai news agency has also reported that two more projects named Mae Sariang 1 and Mae Sariang 2 are also being developed. It is assumed that the two projects are in fact the Wei Gyi and Dagwin Dams that have long been proposed to be built at the Thailand-Burma border. The two projects were originally mulled by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) and an MoU has been signed with Burmese authorities on these two projects. Originating in the Himalaya Mountain Range in Tibet, the Salween River flows through China?s Yunnan province into Burma and Thailand covering a length of 2,800 kilometers from the source down to the Andaman Sea. It is one of the last international rivers in the world which can still run free. It boasts one of the richest biodiversity sources of the region and is home to at least 13 ethnic groups, including the Nu, Lisu, Shan, Karen, Pa-o, Karenni, and Mon. Salween Watch has been compiling information about the projects through its networks and would like to provide an annual update as follows:.."