The Yunnan Provincial Government held an opening ceremony on July 24 to mark the donation of solar street lights and lamps to Thaketa Township in Yangon Region for the second time. The event took place at the U Energy factory on Ayeyarwun Road in Thaketa Township.
The ceremony was attended by several high-ranking officials, including U Soe Thein, Chief Minister of the Yangon Region Government; Mr. Zhang Zhihong, Chinese minister counselor to Myanmar; U Bo Htay, Chairman of the Yangon City Development Committee; U Zaw Win, Yangon Region Minister for Natural Resources; and U Kyaw Thu, CEO of the Yangon Region Electricity Promotion Corporation. Also present were Mr. Liu Ming, Chairman of the China Enterprises Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar (CECC), and representatives from the Yunnan Provincial Commercial Office in Myanmar and the U Energy Power Plant.
The Phase 2 project under the “Seitchinsetnwe Yunnan Program” will see the installation of 40 solar-powered street lights in public areas across Thaketa Township, with a total investment exceeding 370,000 Chinese yuan. This initiative follows the successful implementation of Phase 1 and is jointly carried out by the Yunnan Provincial Trade and Industry Representative Office in Myanmar and YEIG (Yunnan Energy Investment Group), which has long been active in Yangon. YEIG’s local operations currently generate enough power to supply electricity to 300,000 households daily.
The broader “Seitchinsetnwe Yunnan Program” is a regional development initiative covering 50 public welfare projects across 13 Southeast Asian and Indian Ocean countries. The projects span clean energy, safe drinking water, infrastructure; healthcare, environmental protection, vocational training, agricultural technology, poverty alleviation, border community engagement, and youth exchange programs. To date, the program has supported 67 villages, universities, and schools—benefiting nearly 1.4 million people.
Since 2022, the Myanmar-based Yunnan Provincial Trade and Industry Representative Office have managed six projects worth a combined total of around 2 million yuan under the “Unity in Yunnan” initiative. Mr. Guangwei, the head of the office, affirmed their ongoing commitment to supporting the livelihoods of the Myanmar people and expressed hopes for continued involvement of the Yunnan Provincial Government in Myanmar’s charitable sector.
