Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Additional reporting on Kamchay Dam: Cambodia opens controversial mega-dam

[Apologies for not consolidating our media alerts on the operation of
Kamchay Dam]

Cambodia opens controversial mega-dam
7 December 2011
Agence France Presse

Energy-starved Cambodia on Wednesday opened the country's largest
hydropower dam to date, a multi-million dollar Chinese-funded project
that has attracted criticism from environmental groups.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said the start of operations of the 194-megawatt
hydroelectric dam, which cost more than $280 million, in southern Kampot
province was a "historic event" in the development of the nation.

He brushed aside the concerns of local and foreign activists, saying the
environmental impact of the dam had been "well studied" and it would
help bring down electricity prices in areas including the capital Phnom
Penh.

"There is no development that will not impact on the environment," he
said in a speech broadcast on national radio, urging "extreme
environmentalists" to "look at the whole forest rather than each single
tree".

US-based campaigners International Rivers said the Kamchay dam had
destroyed hundreds of hectares of forest and farmland and warned it
would have a negative impact on fisheries and on local people's livelihoods.

"Consideration of the dam's environmental impacts had no place in the
project's decision-making," said Ame Trandem, the non-profit group's
Southeast Asia programme director.

"As the first large dam in Cambodia, we hope this project does not set
precedent for future energy planning and development in the country."

Around a quarter of households in the impoverished nation currently have
access to electricity.

Spiralling utility prices, driven by the lack of supply, are a major
obstacle for Cambodia to attract foreign investment, and the government
has struggled to find a way to bring down the cost of power.

Nine more dams, including at least four funded by China, are set to open
by 2019, and once they are all operational the government says they will
generate 2,045 megawatts of power, serving all Cambodia's provinces.

The inauguration of the Kamchay dam came a day before Cambodia, Laos,
Thailand and Vietnam are set to announce whether Laos will push ahead
with the development of the controversial Xayaburi megadam on the lower
Mekong River.

Cambodia has called for more examination of the cross-border impacts of
that project before a final decision is made by Laos on whether to go ahead.
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