Environmentalists Successfully Block Myanmar Dam Project

Environmentalists and activists hope Myanmar will keep its promise to suspend construction of a controversial hydroelectric dam in the northern Kachin State, despite calls by the Chinese government for talks over the decision.

In a surprising move, on 30 September, President Thein Sein announced that construction of the dam, a project between the government and the state-owned China Power Investment Corporation (CPI), would be suspended during his presidential term. The decision was seen as a victory for the people who battled to stop the dam over concerns about the environment and millions of livelihoods linked to the Ayeyarwady River.

“The president knows the Myitsone Dam [project] is against the will of the people,” Bauk Ja, Kachin activist and member of the National Democratic Force party, told IRIN. “So, he won’t let it resume in his tenure, whatever the pressures from China.”  More Read

Posted in: News