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Thai-Burma to Sign MOU on Hydropower Project By Hanpai / Mizzima News Thailand will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Burma for construction of hydropower plants along the Salween River near the border, Thai Energy Minister Viset Choopiban has said. The MoU will be signed on May 30 in relevance to the feasibility study on the construction of hydropower plants. The Bangkok Post, in its Friday issue, quoted Cherdpong Siriwit, the ministry's permanent secretary as saying that the project would include construction of five hydropower plants with a combined initial capacity of around 15,000 megawatts. Karen River Watch, a non-government organisation, has boycotted the hydropower project alleging that it will lead to increased human rights violation by the military junta. Its Director Naw Phawge said the organisation was aware about the project sites at Tasang in Shan State and Wiji and Htgui in Karen State, but so far it had no knowledge about two more sites. "There will be more human rights violation, including forced relocation and forced labour, and widespread floods," Naw Phawge said explaining the consequences of the proposed construction of dams that will affect the local people. In a campaign against the project, the Karen River Watch has published a report titled "Killer Dams" in English, Burmese and Karen languages. The Nationalities Youth Forum, in its recently published report, has mentioned the likely consequences saying that the construction of dams would cause devastation to the natural forests and create problems of the indegenous people living along river. A joint venture of Thailand and Burma, the project will be funded by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) and MDX, a major construction company. The projects were unlikely to be eligible for loans from international financial institutions, particularly World Bank and Asian Development Bank, as these institutions had denied support to Burma as long as it remained under military rule, said the Bangkok Post, quoting a source in the Thai Ministry. The first Thai-Burmese MoU for construction of four dams in the Salween was signed in 1994. Thailand will be the buyer of the total of 1500 megawatt of hydroelectricity to be generated by the proejct. The construction of the dams is expected to take seven to eight years.
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