HORIBA, Ltd. and HORIBA Advanced Techno, Co., Ltd. (hereinafter collectively referred to as “HORIBA”) have been committed to improving the operation and maintenance capabilities of the sewage treatment plant in Yangon city of Myanmar since March 2018.
This partnership project—backed by one of the Grassroots Technical Cooperation Projects of Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA)—aims to support the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) in fostering its staff and their capabilities. HORIBA and other participating organizations have dispatched technical instructors to Yangon and provided YCDC staff with training in water quality management, operation and maintenance of sewage treatment plants, as well as effective methods of on-site inspection of industrial wastewater control.
Prior to completion of the project in May 2020, the JICA Myanmar office carried out an on-site evaluation. Our project received many positive reviews as the results show that YCDC staff is now able to properly and effectively obtain data from plant operation or maintenance utilizing the water quality measuring instruments donated by HORIBA and they can also instruct relevant companies in wastewater treatment.
The closing seminar held on February 25th was participated by over 100 people, including YCDC’s chief executives and staff, the Japanese embassy, JICA representatives, and project members from Japanese companies. At the seminar, HORIBA presented to Yangon authorities a manual that was created through discussions with YCDC staff to continue sustaining the operation and maintenance capabilities of the plant even after the project was completed.
Yangon city is currently planning to replace the existing sewage treatment plant with a larger-scale one that will be newly set up by using cutting-edge technology and a Japanese yen loan. The more advanced the technology, the more sophisticated maintenance is required.
Going forward, we will apply for the coming JICA grassroots technical cooperation project and continue to offer technical assistance to the YCDC.
Background
Myanmar’s most-populated city Yangon is working on expanding and maintaining sewerage facilities in order to improve their living and water environments. Along with the expansion and maintenance of sewerage facilities in progress, it is expected that the water quality could be affected by a rapid increase in the amount of wastewater flowing into the only sewage treatment plant in Yangon.
The YCDC established a water quality testing laboratory within their sewage treatment plant in 2014, but they are still faced with new challenges, such as human resources development, continuous acquisition of various water quality data, and further improvement of techniques to test the quality of influent water and treated water. They also intend to strengthen wastewater and water quality regulations to prevent the inflow of substances that cannot be treated at the plant.
Yangon Sewerage System Development Project
In cooperation with the city of Osaka, the HORIBA Group is working together with Hiyoshi Corporation and Clearwater OSAKA Corporation to improve Yangon city's water quality and environment. The project began in March 2018 and is coming to an end in May 2020.
Other Activities in Myanmar
2014-
Started accepting internships from Myanmar (total of 27 interns to date)
2015-2017
Jointly operated business with Hitachi Zosen to improve river pollution in Myanmar
