New Delhi (Mizzima) - Despite protests by local residents and environmental groups regarding the negative side effects that would befall the local community, Burma's military authorities and a Chinese corporation have begun constructing dams on rivers in Burma's northern Kachin state, sources said.
Led by the China Power Investment Cooperation (CPI), work has begun on the construction of a small hydroelectric project on the Chiphwi River, about 70 miles northeast of Kachin state's capital of Myitkyina.
The dam, which is expected to produce approximately 980 kilowatts of energy, will be used to supply electricity for the construction of other hydroelectric projects including one at the confluence of the Nmai Hka (May Kha) and Mali Hka Rivers, about 28 kilometers north of Myitkyina.
An official with Asia World Company Ltd. (AWC) who is working at the construction site said, "This dam is a small one and is purposely being built to produce electricity to be used in major dam construction along the Nmai Hka and Mali Hka Rivers, including the Myintsone dam [at the confluence of the two rivers]."
Burma's military government, in collaboration with CPI and AWC, plan to construct at least seven dams on the Mali Hka and Nmai Hka Rivers, in addition to the one at the confluence of the two rivers, and will sell the electricity generated from the dams to China.
Local Kachin in Myitkyina, as well as environmental groups including the Kachin Development Network Group (KDNG), have strongly protested against construction of the dams, saying there will be little benefit for the local community while the devastation caused by the construction will take a heavy toll on their livelihood.
According to the Thailand-based KDNG, the planned hydroelectric projects would destroy at least 47 villages and threaten over 10,000 lives by inundating about 766 square kilometers of farmland with water.
A local resident from Myitkyina told Mizzima that there is a lot of concern among the people over dam construction, as they fear the dams will threaten their homes and destroy their livelihood.
"People do not like the project. They have voiced their objection since the beginning, but their voices fall on deaf ears," he added.
According to the KDNG, the Burmese government's Ministry of Electric Power No.1 and CPI have agreed to generate at least 3,600 megawatts of electricity from the hydroelectric projects in Kachin state.
