Myanmar quietly announces plans to study controversial Chinese dam project suspended 13 years ago
Myanmar’s military government appears to be considering reviving a massive China-backed hydroelectric dam project
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Myanmar’s military government appears to be considering reviving a massive China-backed hydroelectric dam project, work on which was suspended more than a decade ago after protests over its possible impact on the environment.
A notice from the Information Ministry, published online in the latest issue of the government gazette on Tuesday, announced a new leadership team for the Myitsone hydropower project, which was put on hold in 2011 by Myanmar’s military-backed former president, Thein Sein.
The $3.6 billion project in the northern state of Kachin, along the country’s Irrawaddy River, was supposed to export about 90% of the electricity it generated to China, Myanmar’s northern neighbor.
China had considered the dam an important part of a national strategy to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and meet its targets to cut pollution. It lobbied strongly for its construction to resume, even after the suspension.
