Tuesday, 04 October 2011 23:19 Ko Wild
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The Chinese builder of the suspended Myitsone Dam project said China may seek legal damages from the Burmese government, the Chinese Power Investment (CPI) Corporation said on Monday.
CPI chairman Lu Qizhou told Xinhua, the Chinese news agency, that he was “totally astonished” to learn that Burmese President Thein Sein had changed his mind and suspended the project.
“In February this year, Burma’s prime minister urged us to accelerate the construction when he inspected the project site, so the sudden proposal of suspension now is very bewildering. If suspension means a construction halt, then it will lead to a series of legal issues,” he was quoted as saying.
Xinhua, in an interview with Li Qizhou, quoted him saying: “I am totally astonished to hear the news of suspending this project. Under the announcement of halting this project, we must stop all of our construction work there.”
China’s total investment in the dam project is approximately US$ 3.6 billion and the bilateral project was scheduled to be completed in 2019.
Burma has signed two formal agreements, one in December 2006 between CPI and the Burmese No. 1 Electricity Power Ministry, and the second in March 2009 explicitly supporting CPI in developing the upstream-Irrawaddy hydropower project, Li Qizhou said.
He said all legal documents, including the application for approval, the signing of a Joint Venture Agreement, a business license for the Joint Venture, an investment permit, concession rights and legal opinions of judges were all in strict compliance with Burma’s procedures.
All legal supporting documents for Myitsone Hydropower Station, to which a Burmese company, Asia World Company, is a partner are complete, said the CPI chairman.
The dam project raised protests throughout Burma for its environmental impact, and the damage it would cause to the country’s historical and archeological heritage. A major objection was also the increase in salinity to farmland downstream in Burma’s delta region.
Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, citing her opposition to the project, said, “Conserving the Irrawaddy is conserving the country’s environment and economy and also it is the conservation of our cultural heritage,” in an appeal to the people and government released in August.
Under the agreement, CPI has the right to operate the huge dam and hydropower plant for 50 years. The CPI-funded study on the environmental impact upstream of the Irrawaddy was conducted by the Changjiang Institute, which designed the dam project, and involved more than 100 authoritative experts in the field. Surprisingly, the study was critical of the project’s impact on the environment and area.
Chairman Lu Qizhou said: “In my opinion, having undergone sufficient scientific proving and fulfilled stringent legal procedures of both countries, Myitsone Hydropower Station is sure to withstand the test of history. I strongly hope that with unremitting efforts of relevant parties, this project can smoothly move forward on schedule, and mutual benefit and a win-win result will become a reality for China and Myanmar.”
Pianporn Deetes, in charge of the Thai branch of the International Rivers Network, said that all the dam projects to be built upstream of the Irrawaddy River should be openly discussed, because the Irrawaddy River is the lifeline of all people living along the basin from Kachin State to the Irrawaddy delta in south.
“It is worrisome because it could impact the rice production in the delta region which is the rice bowl of the entire country. Moreover the dam will block the channels and waterways for migration of fish and other aquatic creatures,” she told Mizzima.
A total of eight hydropower projects are scheduled to be built on the Irrawaddy and two of its tributaries, the Maykha and the Malikha rivers. The Myitsone Dam project is the largest with an installed capacity of 6,000 megawatts. Ten per cent of the project has been completed.
The CPI chairman said that Burma would receive US$ 5.4 billion as withholding tax during this period and will also receive 10 per cent of the electricity generated.
The announcement of the suspension of the project came as a surprise. No. 1 Electric Power Ministry Minister Zaw Min said on September 10 that the project would be continued in spite of the strong protests from activists and environmentalists. A workshop on the project was held in Naypyitaw on September 17, and the CPI chairman read a paper at the workshop.
Minister Zaw Min said during the workshop an environmental impact study for the Irrawaddy delta region had not yet been done. He cited as a reason Burma did not yet have an “environment law” to be applied.
Pianporn Deetes said that Burma needed to draft a conclusive and comprehensive environment law. She said that the environmental impact on the upstream area of the Irrawaddy River should be made public.
“We don’t want to see two countries and companies involved in this project negotiate secretly behind the scenes after officially announcing the suspension of the dam project,” she said. All of these projects should be made public and they should take responsibility for all the people who will suffer the negative consequences from this project,” she said.
A total of 18 hydropower projects are being implemented in the Irrawaddy basin in Kachin State. According to official announcements made in early 2011, the total installed capacity of the combined projects would be 20,760 megawatts.
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The Chinese builder of the suspended Myitsone Dam project said China may seek legal damages from the Burmese government, the Chinese Power Investment (CPI) Corporation said on Monday.
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| CPI chairman Lu Qizhou. Photo: Eng.cpicorp.com.cn |
CPI chairman Lu Qizhou told Xinhua, the Chinese news agency, that he was “totally astonished” to learn that Burmese President Thein Sein had changed his mind and suspended the project.
“In February this year, Burma’s prime minister urged us to accelerate the construction when he inspected the project site, so the sudden proposal of suspension now is very bewildering. If suspension means a construction halt, then it will lead to a series of legal issues,” he was quoted as saying.
Xinhua, in an interview with Li Qizhou, quoted him saying: “I am totally astonished to hear the news of suspending this project. Under the announcement of halting this project, we must stop all of our construction work there.”
China’s total investment in the dam project is approximately US$ 3.6 billion and the bilateral project was scheduled to be completed in 2019.
Burma has signed two formal agreements, one in December 2006 between CPI and the Burmese No. 1 Electricity Power Ministry, and the second in March 2009 explicitly supporting CPI in developing the upstream-Irrawaddy hydropower project, Li Qizhou said.
He said all legal documents, including the application for approval, the signing of a Joint Venture Agreement, a business license for the Joint Venture, an investment permit, concession rights and legal opinions of judges were all in strict compliance with Burma’s procedures.
All legal supporting documents for Myitsone Hydropower Station, to which a Burmese company, Asia World Company, is a partner are complete, said the CPI chairman.
The dam project raised protests throughout Burma for its environmental impact, and the damage it would cause to the country’s historical and archeological heritage. A major objection was also the increase in salinity to farmland downstream in Burma’s delta region.
Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, citing her opposition to the project, said, “Conserving the Irrawaddy is conserving the country’s environment and economy and also it is the conservation of our cultural heritage,” in an appeal to the people and government released in August.
Under the agreement, CPI has the right to operate the huge dam and hydropower plant for 50 years. The CPI-funded study on the environmental impact upstream of the Irrawaddy was conducted by the Changjiang Institute, which designed the dam project, and involved more than 100 authoritative experts in the field. Surprisingly, the study was critical of the project’s impact on the environment and area.
Chairman Lu Qizhou said: “In my opinion, having undergone sufficient scientific proving and fulfilled stringent legal procedures of both countries, Myitsone Hydropower Station is sure to withstand the test of history. I strongly hope that with unremitting efforts of relevant parties, this project can smoothly move forward on schedule, and mutual benefit and a win-win result will become a reality for China and Myanmar.”
Pianporn Deetes, in charge of the Thai branch of the International Rivers Network, said that all the dam projects to be built upstream of the Irrawaddy River should be openly discussed, because the Irrawaddy River is the lifeline of all people living along the basin from Kachin State to the Irrawaddy delta in south.
“It is worrisome because it could impact the rice production in the delta region which is the rice bowl of the entire country. Moreover the dam will block the channels and waterways for migration of fish and other aquatic creatures,” she told Mizzima.
A total of eight hydropower projects are scheduled to be built on the Irrawaddy and two of its tributaries, the Maykha and the Malikha rivers. The Myitsone Dam project is the largest with an installed capacity of 6,000 megawatts. Ten per cent of the project has been completed.
The CPI chairman said that Burma would receive US$ 5.4 billion as withholding tax during this period and will also receive 10 per cent of the electricity generated.
The announcement of the suspension of the project came as a surprise. No. 1 Electric Power Ministry Minister Zaw Min said on September 10 that the project would be continued in spite of the strong protests from activists and environmentalists. A workshop on the project was held in Naypyitaw on September 17, and the CPI chairman read a paper at the workshop.
Minister Zaw Min said during the workshop an environmental impact study for the Irrawaddy delta region had not yet been done. He cited as a reason Burma did not yet have an “environment law” to be applied.
Pianporn Deetes said that Burma needed to draft a conclusive and comprehensive environment law. She said that the environmental impact on the upstream area of the Irrawaddy River should be made public.
“We don’t want to see two countries and companies involved in this project negotiate secretly behind the scenes after officially announcing the suspension of the dam project,” she said. All of these projects should be made public and they should take responsibility for all the people who will suffer the negative consequences from this project,” she said.
A total of 18 hydropower projects are being implemented in the Irrawaddy basin in Kachin State. According to official announcements made in early 2011, the total installed capacity of the combined projects would be 20,760 megawatts.
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