MAE SAM LAEB, Thailand - Controversial plans to dam the Salween River, Southeast Asia's longest natural free-flowing waterway, will proceed without a standard environmental-impact assessment study, despite serious concerns about the effect the infrastructure project will have on the area's people and natural surroundings.
This month, Thailand's state-run monopoly EGAT finally formalized its long-pending plans to build five hydroelectric dams along the Salween River inside Myanmar. An EGAT spokesman said previous plans for the study were finally abandoned to avoid meddling in Myanmar's internal affairs.
Combined, the five dams have the potential to produce 10,000-15,000 megawatts of power, and would provide a desperately needed source of income for Myanmar's cash-strapped ruling military junta. At the same time, the projects are planned for areas that are still hotly contested by armed ethnic insurgent groups, some of which have been fighting for autonomy for more than 50 years.
Full Story: Asia Times Online
EGAT dams the Salween, and damns its people
EGAT dams the Salween, and damns its people
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