Myanmar junta revives plans for China-backed mega-dam

AFP | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Myanmar’s junta has revived plans for a $3.6 billion Chinese-backed dam in the north of the country that was suspended more than 10 years ago following huge public opposition.

The project to build the 6,000-megawatt Myitsone dam in northern Kachin state was ended in 2011 under a previous junta.

Its opponents said the dam on the Ayeyarwady river -- which would have exported around 90 percent of the power it generated to China -- would cause huge environmental damage and bring little benefit to the country.

The junta announced a new “leading group” for the hydropower project in a notice dated April 24 and released on an obscure government portal on Tuesday.