10, a talk on the Myitsone project was held in Rangoon with about 400 people in attendance. During the talk, Dr Tun Lwin, the former director-general of Burma's Department of Meteorology and Hydrology said he was anti the project because it would cause changes to the country's climate, cyclones and water level fluctuations.
Win Myo Thu, the managing director of the Economically Progressive Ecosystem Development (EcoDev) in Rangoon, said, “My individual point of view is that I oppose the project. However, the project is already under construction, so we must balance economic benefits with environmental impacts.”
“There is no doubt that it [the dam] will damage the environment. Another question is whether the dam will really benefit the economy [of Burma],” he added.
The disagreement on the Myitsone Project extends to the ruling hierarchy. At a press conference in Naypyidaw, ex Maj-Gen Htay Oo, the general secretary of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and former minister for agriculture and irrigation, said it would be better that if experts discussed the impacts of dam projects.
“Sometimes the projects produce benefits, sometimes flooding,” he said.
With a 3,600-MW capacity, the Myitsone project original projected cost of US $ 3.6 billion is likely to double since its capacity has been upgraded to 6,000 MW.
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, foreign direct investment (FDI) to Burma was $20 billion in the 2010/11 fiscal year, a massive jump compared to the $329.6 million in 2009/10. This year's figure includes a massive $8.2 billion invested in the power sector.
According to an official document signed by Burmese and Chinese officials, 10 percent of profits from the project will be distributed as broker fees, while the other 70 percent goes to China, and 20 percent to the Burmese military.
Top benefactors are alleged to include Snr-Gen Than Shwe, First Vice-president ex-Gen Tin Aung Myint Oo, and Zaw Min.
“The project is complicated with vested interests,” said Aung Thu Nyein, a senior associate with the Thailand-based Vahu Development Institute. “Former junta members, Chinese and a few cronies.
“It is a symbol of the military recklessly pillaging the natural resources of the country,” he said.
Despite increasing campaigns against the Myitsone dam, CPI, and its Burmese counterparts, the Ministry of Electric Power-1 and Asia World, work on the project resumed in late August after it had been suspended in June due to security reasons amid armed conflicts in Kachin State between government troops and the Kachin Independence Army.