The Myitsone Dam project on the Irrawaddy River in Kachin State, Burma. (Photo: Jingpaw Targyi) More than two weeks have passed since Burmese President Thein Sein announced the suspension of the controversial Myitsone hydroelectric dam project in Kachin State, but according to sources in the area, there is still little to suggest that the Chinese state-owned company behind the project is preparing to pull out.
“There are still Chinese workers at the dam site and they are still working on a road connecting it to the Chinese border,” said Awng Wa, the chairman of the Kachin Development Networking Group (KDNG), speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday.
In a statement released on Friday, KDNG said that “equipment and supplies for the project remain in place, security restrictions continue for local residents, and destructive gold mining in the planned Myitsone dam reservoir area is ongoing.”
The statement also alleges that China Power Investment Corporation (CPI), the major investor in the project, recently told local staff of their project partner, Asia World, not to remove any equipment, as work would resume after the rainy season, despite the suspension announcement.
According to Awng Wa, after Thein Sein ordered a suspension of work on the dam on Sept 30, residents of the village of Aung Myay Tha Yar whose land had been confiscated to make way for the project attempted to return to their homes, only to be told that they were not permitted to enter the “restricted area.”
Pho Zaw, a Kachin border trader from Myitkyina, said that work has only been stopped in areas that are accessible to the public. Farther upstream on the two rivers that converge at Myitsone, construction of six other dams continues “night and day,” he said.
According to the KDNG statement, Chinese workers are also still carrying out land survey work south of the dam site and are continuing construction of a supply road linking the Myitsone dam site to the Chinese border town of Tengchong.
“All seven dams of the Irrawaddy project will have devastating effects on the millions living along the river. We will continue to resist the dams until they are all officially canceled, not just ‘suspended’,” said KDNG spokesperson Ah Nan.
