Tikir Dam to bring regional development to Htantalan

February 06, 2018

Vice President U Henry Van Thio, who was in Chin State to review the progress of regional development works, inspected the Tikir Dam project in Htantalan Township Sunday morning.

He also inspected the inflow of water into the dam and the status of the dam construction from the dam viewpoint.

The Vice President and his delegation were then explained the water storage and electricity generation capacity of the dam, the water distribution network to nearby villages, the setting up of hillside and highland farms, and the regional development works by Irrigation and Water Utilization Management Department Director General U Kyaw Myint Hlaing.

The Vice President then spoke about planting Japanese cherry blossoms, and coffee and pine trees to establish a natural environment in the catchment area and basin area of the dam, distribute clean water to Tikir Village and 11 other villages, set up 550 acres of highland farms to replace slash-and-burn hillside farms, distribute water to the highland farms once it is set up and implement a new eco-tourism project.

Next, U Henry Van Thio; Union Minister Dr. Aung Thu; State Chief Minister U Salai Lian Luai; and State Hluttaw Speaker U Zo Bwe were presented with gifts by U Kyaw Myint Hlaing.

The Tikir Dam is situated near Htantalan Town and Tikir Village and is a 500-foot-long and 75-foot-high dam. At full storage capacity, it can store 1,265 acre feet of water and can distribute water to Tikir Village, 11 nearby villages, irrigation water for highland farms and produce 50 kilowatts of electricity through a mini-hydroelectric power station.

Next, the Vice President and his delegation viewed the dam and the possibility of setting up eco-tourism around it from Tikir Village to Sutaung Hill.

Later, the Vice President inspected the status of the construction of a water storage pond to distribute water to Tikir Village and the 11 villages.

The water storage pond is 50 feet long, 50 feet wide and 15 feet deep, capable of storing 235,000 gallons.

The Vice President then arrived at Tikir Basic Education Sub-High School and inspected the status of the construction of two 60×30 square feet staff houses, a 140×30 square feet two-storey reinforced concrete school building, a hostel for students and the Tikir football field.

The Vice President then went to the Tikir Village coffee tree nursery, where he, along with the State Chief Minister, state Hluttaw speaker and deputy ministers, presented coffee plant saplings to coffee farmers. They then continued to inspect the construction of the Tikir diversion dam.

The Vice President also went to the construction site of a 16-bed Tikir cottage hospital to inspect the staff house and the status of project works.

After arriving at the project briefing hall, Tawwin Kyaphu Company Limited’s construction-in-charge U Thiha Soe explained the project matters.

The Vice President then attended the Tikir Village Baptist Church prayer service and met the local populace and elders from nearby villages.

During the meeting, the Vice President said the visit was conducted to view first-hand the regional development works.

By constructing the Tikir Dam, water can be distributed sufficiently to Tikir Village, as well as the 11 nearby villages. Model highland farms were being established to replace slash-and-burn hillside farms and the local people were being urged to understand the good intention of the government and strive towards setting up agriculture- and livestock-breeding works. Natural resources such as forests and mountains need to be effectively utilised to establish eco-tourism businesses. Natural surroundings must be protected and preserved, and the area should be a model region.

The Vice President explained the education, health, road and telecommunication works conducted by the government for regional development.

The local people then explained the requirements for regional development, to which the Vice President replied that short-term works that can be completed in a short time will be conducted, while those that cannot be done in a short time frame will be coordinated and handled within a set time frame. The Vice President added that everyone must strive together for regional development.

The Vice President then inspected the Tikir Dam on a boat after which he and his delegation and him went to Htantalan Township Salan Village and Vambai Village, where local villagers and elders greeted them with traditional dance performances.

From there, the Vice President went to the site where Htantalan Airport is planned to be constructed. At the site, Deputy Minister U Kyaw Lin and Department of Civil Aviation Director U Kyaw Soe explained the preliminary site inspection status.

The new Htantalan Airport runway is 6,000 feet long and 100 feet wide, while 202.02 acres of land has been set aside for the airport.

Ref; The Global New Light of Myanmar