Myanmar junta revives plans for China-backed dam
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.
The group is made up of 11 members, including the deputy minister for electricity, and will "conduct and manage research, technical solutions and public relations" for the project, the notice said.
It will work with China's State Power Investment Corporation's (SPIC) Yunnan International Power Investment Company on "research, technical solutions, and public relations," it added, without giving details.
SPIC is a Chinese state-owned group and one of the biggest utility companies in the country.
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