by Zhang Lulu
It is scorching hot on Made Island in Myanmar (formerly Burma) in southeast Asia. U Hla Tun, a 55-year-old Ywama village native, is seeking respite sitting on his reclining chair in front of his shed. He chats with his fellow villagers from time to time, often gazing into the rice paddies on the other side of the dirt road.
U Hla Tun is one of the villagers whose farmland was confiscated for the construction of the Myanmar-China Oil Pipeline, an oil transport route starting from secluded Made Island and stretching all the way to Yunnan Province of China.
He was offered more than US$30,000 (in comparison to Burmese per capita income that stands at US$702 according to United Nations Development Program) as compensation for his loss of his two acres of land when the project began in 2010. He put the money into banks while working on remaining land that provides sufficient food for him and his wife.
"I often take care of the water purification facility here and drive away drunkards who sometimes accidentally break its windows," he told China.org.cn on May 3, pointing at a brick structure standing opposite his shed.
The water-cleaning facility is one of the public projects the pipeline company built to meet local needs. The oil pipeline, built by the joint venture South-East Asia Crude Oil Pipeline Co. Ltd., is owned by China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) holding a 50.9 percent stake and Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) the remainder.
Energy channel
The Myanmar-China Oil Pipeline starting from Made Island in Kyaukpyu of West Myanmar, crosses four states before entering Yunnan Province. Construction on the 771-kilometer pipeline began in 2010 and was completed in 2015. It formally began operation on April 10 this year, when a 140,000-MT oil tanker offloaded its crude oil at the island port.
The pipeline has a designed transmission capacity of 22 million tons of crude oil per year, with Myanmar taking two million tons for its own needs.
A similar pipeline, known as the Myanmar-China Gas Pipeline, runs parallel to the oil route. The 793-kilometer pipeline began operation in 2015 with a designed annual transmission capacity of 12 billion cubic meters, one-sixth of which can be retained by Myanmar.
The twin pipelines are part of the Belt and Road infrastructure and trade cooperation framework that China proposed in 2013 to connect Asia, Europe, Africa as well as the rest of the world.
The two pipelines are widely seen as allowing China to diversify its energy supply routes - mostly traversing the sea – but Jiang Changliang, president of CNPC South-East Asia Pipeline Company Ltd (SEAP), is convinced it is far more than that.
"The gas pipeline has already become a key energy artery for Myanmar and the oil pipeline will play an increasingly important role for the country in the near future," he told China.org.cn on May 3, "The two pipelines help bring China and Myanmar closer."
'Paukphaw' relationship
"China and Myanmar are long-time friends; and this is reflected in them being the only countries in the world to use the word 'paukphaw' to describe their relationship," Jiang continued, referring to the Burmese word that means "fraternity."
Tun Lin, a 26-year-old Burmese driver at SEAP, certainly knows the word inside out. He began work on April 3, 2014, a day he can vividly remember. Besides driving, the youngster is keen to learn from his Chinese colleagues everything ranging from the Chinese language to technology.
He learned the water-cleaning technology from Chinese co-workers in 2015 and when he finds a problem with the machinery, he will proactively refer it to maintenance staff. He was recognized as one of the company's "Outstanding Staff" in 2015.
For 37-year-old Zayar Oo, a Burmese excavator driver, working for a Chinese company is quite different from his previous experience. He came to the island in 2009 and changed jobs several times before settling down at SEAP three years ago. "Working here as a Burmese is no different from being a Chinese," he said, "Everyone is like a brother, and I feel I am equal to others. This is unlikely to happen in other foreign companies."
According to Han Jianqiang, assistant president of SEAP, there are more than 280 Myanmar employees compared to 152 Chinese in the company, including more than 50 islanders.
Eye-opening, convenient projects
Zayar Oo remembers the look of the island when he first arrived eight years ago. "There were only hills on the island, and beyond the coast, there are still hills." He said, "The company made efforts to improve the living conditions of islander step-by-step." He pointed to the reservoirs, electricity power lines and roads that the company has brought to the isolated location.
The island is home to three villages, with more than 700 households and 3,000 residents. Both Zayar Oo and U Hla Tun recalled the days when there was no electricity at all and felt grateful the island now has access to power four hours a day -- with the likelihood of having 24-hour power supply by the end of this year.
Previously storing rain water for use, villagers now have access to clean water through the reservoir and 15 water points built by the company in the three villages.
The pipeline company has also brought eye-opening experience to the island, Zayar Oo said. "When the islanders first heard of 'building roads,' they had no idea what that meant. Now, that they have roads that connect the three villages, which were previously cut off from each other, they want more."
The same is true with meeting people from outside the island. "Islanders used to know their fellow villagers only, but with the arrival of the company, they can meet people from around the world. And things like oil tankers….what a big thing for them to see!"
According to information released at a news conference on May 9, a total of 47 Chinese companies have invested or participated in 1,676 projects in Belt and Road countries in the past three years.
Source: www.china.org.cn