China Power Investment, Yunnan Power Grid join Myanmar's Irrawaday dam project |
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Tue, 23 Oct 2007 07:14
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BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - Chinese companies, including Yunnan Power Grid Corp and the China Power Investment Corporation (CPI), are at the center of new plans to dam the Irrawaday River in neighboring Myanmar, a local pressure group said.Yunnan Power Grid will connect the Myitsone hydropower plant, located at the confluence of the Irrawaday, to the Greater Mekong power network and to the rest of China, according to the Kachin Development Networking Group (KDNG), a human rights organization based in the northern Myanmar state of Kachin.KDNG's Naw La said that 'standards such as emergency measures for dam breaks, public participation, and impact assessments that are written into Chinese law are not being followed in the Irrawaday dam project.'CPI -- one of China's 'big five' state-owned electricity companies -- has signed deals with the Myanmar power bureau to build as many as seven dams in the area, KDNG said.China's Southern Power Grid Corporation is also a strategic partner in the project after signing an agreement earlier this year, said the pressure group.The Chinese companies could generate as much as 500 mln usd in revenues per year from the projects, but KDNG says that the 150-meter dam will threaten the livelihoods of as many as 1.5 mln local people.The activities of Chinese companies in Myanmar came under scrutiny last month after a series of protests in the country's capital, Rangoon, were crushed by the government.As well as hydropower, Chinese enterprises are also involved in logging, mining and natural gas exploration in Myanmar.david.stanway@xinhuafinance.com-xfndds/xfnjanmCOPYRIGHTCopyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
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