Myanmar probes controversial China-backed dam

Myanmar probes controversial China-backed dam

Myanmar is probing whether to resume construction on a controversial
Chinese-backed dam, state media reported Saturday, with promises to listen
to fierce public opposition to the project.

The fate of the $3.6 billion Myitsone dam in northern Kachin state has hung
in the balance since it was abruptly halted by Myanmar in 2011 following
protests over environmental and safety concerns.

The hydropower project came to symbolise China's economic dominance in
formerly junta-run Myanmar and now poses a delicate challenge to the
country's new civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The veteran activist is eager to prevent renewed protests at home but also
wants to maintain healthy ties with top investor Beijing, which has been
lobbying her government to unfreeze the project.

China also holds strong sway over ethnic rebel militias along the two
countries' restive border and has a key role to play in peace talks that Suu
Kyi is determined to make progress on.

A commission advising Suu Kyi's administration on whether to scrap the dam
submitted its first report to her government on Friday, according to the
state-run Global New Light of Myanmar.

It said an environmental and social impact assessment was underway and that
the commission had already met local officials and other stakeholders.

A final decision on the project's fate would take into consideration
environmental costs, the "desires and opinions of local people and societies
and potential effects on foreign investment", the report added.

Local opposition to the dam has been fuelled by a mix of concerns, including
its location near an active seismic fault line, the impact of flooding on
local residents and a general lack of transparency in a project viewed as a
resource grab by Beijing.

The dam was originally designed to funnel the vast majority of its
electricity back to the mainland.

China was instrumental in shielding Myanmar's former junta from
international sanctions and was rewarded with lucrative concessions that
often had little trickle down benefit.

Beijing is still by far Myanmar's largest foreign investor, despite
democratic reforms in recent years that have seen Western firms pour in.

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com