World Bank's thirst for hydropower
Bretton Woods Bulletin, 27 February 2014
www.brettonwoodsproject.org/2014/02/world-banks-thirst-hydropower/
Summary
IFC linked to controversial hydropower project in Guatemala through
financial intermediary
Bank postpones decision on much-criticised Inga 3 dam in Democratic
Republic of Congo, IFC rumoured to step in
Concerns raised over Bank funding for dams in East Africa, Niger
Bank and IFC funding for hydropower projects in Pakistan confirmed
Proposed Bank funding for Macedonia dam in national park criticised
by scientists
Uruguay buys Bank insurance to protect state hydropower company
Bank's "thirsty energy" initiative raises concerns on viability of
hydropower
The World Bank has continued its push for hydropower projects (see
Bulletin Dec 2013, Observer Autumn 2013, Update 86), including through
its private-sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
After the US appropriations bill in January gave fresh hope for long
awaited compensation for the communities affected by atrocities
associated with the Chixoy dam in Guatemala (Observer Winter 2014,
Update 86, 84), the spotlight has turned to the IFC's involvement in
another controversial dam through a financial intermediary, linked to
human rights violations of indigenous communities (see Bulletin Dec
2013, Update 86, 84). In a February open statement, the Guatemalan NGO
Departmental Assembly of Huehuetenango (ADH) referred to a five-year
conflict over two hydroelectric projects on the Cambalam river being
built by Hidro Santa Cruz, a subsidiary of Spanish company Hidralia
Energía, resulting in "persecution, intimidation, and co-option of
community leaders. There have been assassinations, imprisonment; there
is fear and terror."
The statement alleged: "The sad and terrifying story of Chixoy is
related to the current persecution … through international financial
institutions", the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.
In 2008 the IFC provided $20 million in loans and invested $9.9 million
in equity in Corporación Interamericana para el Financiamiento de
Infraestructura (CIFI), "a nonbank financial institution that funds
small and midsize infrastructure projects in Latin America and the
Caribbean". CIFI in turn invested in Hidro Santa Cruz and the Cambalam
project in 2010, with "a long term loan of up to $8.2 million, and a
mezzanine facility of up to $2.5 million." The NGO statement included a
call for: "The governments of Europe, Canada and Latin America to
investigate and make a public statement against the improper use given
to funds provided by the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank."
In early February, NGOs opposing the Inga hydropower developments in the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) celebrated as a heavily criticised
Bank proposal for technical assistance to the Inga 3 project (see
Observer Autumn 2013, Update 86, 81) was removed from the Bank board's
calendar only days before approval was scheduled to take place. However,
the victory was short lived as unconfirmed information emerged that a
deal has instead been struck between the IFC and an unnamed Chinese
company as a private investor. According to Peter Bosshard, policy
director of US-based NGO International Rivers "the IFC deal was arranged
by the heads of the World Bank, IFC and USAID behind the scenes, without
any accountability to the DRC parliament, the World Bank's board of
directors and civil society. Handing the project over to a private
investor will make it even less likely the country's poor people would
benefit from the project." Prior to the expected board approval, 12 DRC
NGOs, including Centre National d'Appui au Développement et à la
Participation Populaire, wrote to the Bank's board members, questioning
the project's focus on "supplying power for export and promoting
industrial and mining development" and asked for the energy needs of the
DRC population to be prioritised: "Sadly, we the Congolese continue to
ask whom this energy is for?"
More hydro: East Africa, Niger, Pakistan, Macedonia
In August 2013 the Bank signed a $340 million deal with Rwanda, Tanzania
and Burundi for the cross border 80 MW Rusumo hydroelectric project,
scheduled to commence in 2014. However, concerns have been raised over
the development impacts of the project, including over the location in
an area prone to drought and that it is likely to primarily power the
mining industry (see Update 61). In December, Niger secured $172 million
from the Bank and other funders to finance the 130 MW Kandadji
hydroelectric project. According to a 2011 report by the International
Union for Conservation of Nature, the dam would displace 38,000 people.
Samuel Nguiffo, coordinator of the Cameroon-based NGO Centre for the
Environment and Development, told news agency Thomson Reuters Foundation
"communities along the project area have to sacrifice their land and
livelihood for little or no benefits."
In January, the Bank agreed to provide over half of the funding for the
$1.4 billion first stage of Pakistan's Dasu hydropower project located
on the Indus River. The final project estimated at $7 billion is
expected to generate 4,320 MW. According to the Bank's assessments of
the project, 767 households from 34 villages will require relocation.
Furthermore, "potential cultural and social conflict" is expected
between the local residents and the vast number of migrant labourers
required during the construction phase. Moreover, the environmental
assessment concluded that due to climate change "glaciers in the
Himalaya and Karakorum [mountains] are receding faster than happens in
any other part of the world", confirming that "most of the water of the
Indus River originates from glacial melt". Also in Pakistan, the IFC is
due to approve equity investment of up to $125 million for China Three
Gorges South Asia Investment Limited in March. The company's prospective
activities include the development and operation of two hydropower
projects, the 720 MW Karot and the 1,100 MW Kohala projects.
The Bank is considering a $70 million loan for the planned Lukovo Pole
dam in Macedonia's Mavrovo National Park. Furthermore, the European Bank
for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has committed €65 million for
the Boshkov Most dam in the same park. In a January open letter to the
World Bank president Jim Yong Kim and the EBRD president Suma
Chakrabarti, 119 scientists from around the world urged them to
"reconsider your institutions' position to fund these projects".
According to the scientists: "Not only are these projects threatening
specific habitats that this national park provides for many endangered
species, they also undermine the very idea of national parks in general
[and] violate EU law. … We are surprised that your institutions have
even considered supporting these dam projects." A late January Bank
statement clarified that "no decisions have been taken at this point",
and that "all national, EU, and World Bank standards for due diligence
will be met … when a detailed design proposal is ready."
Thirsty energy
Despite the Bank's continued promotion of hydropower, its own research
has raised concerns about its viability. In December the Bank completed
a $450 million "weather and oil price insurance" agreement for the
Uruguay state-owned hydropower company. The transaction will insure the
company for the next 18 months "against drought and high oil prices,
both of which have had negative financial impacts on the company in the
past." According to the Bank's press release the "size of the contract
is large because the financial risk is significant", noting that in 2012
"the costs of supplying demand for electricity reached a record of $1.4
billion, far exceeding the company's original projections of $953
million" due to water shortages.
In January, the Bank launched a new initiative on "thirsty energy", to
"help developing countries better plan and manage scaling-up energy
capacity to meet rising demand, in tandem with water resource
management". Rachel Kyte, the Bank's vice president and special envoy
for climate change, said: "With demand rising for both resources and
increasing challenges from climate change, water scarcity can threaten
the long-term viability of energy projects and hinder development."
The initiative follows a June 2013 Bank report with the same name which
outlined several problems with hydropower, including that hydropower
plants can alter "the timing and flow of the water. This impounded water
affects water quality and aquatic life". Furthermore: "A changing
climate and increasing water variability will also affect hydropower as
flows shift due to changing precipitation. In addition, glaciers that
feed hydropower plants may disappear, thus jeopardising the ability of
nations to generate power" noting: "Glacier retreat has already affected
the output of hydropower plants in areas of Bolivia and Peru." It also
referenced a 2010 study by US-based NGO World Resources Institute
assessing "existing and planned power plants in India and southeast
Asia", which concluded that "over half are located in areas that will
likely face water shortages in the future." In contrast, the report
concluded that "wind (which requires virtually no water) and
photovoltaic (which requires a small quantity of water to wash the
panels) have negligible impacts on the water and energy nexus."
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Thursday, February 27, 2014
Monday, February 24, 2014
WSJ - Dam Building Slows in Southeast Asia
Dam Building Slows in Southeast Asia: Construction Faces Opposition Over Social, Environmental and Geopolitical Factors
By Jake Maxwell Watts, Wall Street Journal, February 23, 2014
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303448204579340180863634044
Hydropower dams in parts of Southeast Asia are being canceled or suspended as governments face stronger opposition, forcing them to take greater responsibility for environmental and social impact or look to other sources of energy.
The resistance, in a region where vast hydropower potential remains untapped, occurs as energy demand is skyrocketing. With dams facing opposition over social, environmental and geopolitical factors, the days of indiscriminate building may be coming to an end, requiring countries to reconsider energy security and energy sharing in Southeast Asia.
In Vietnam, the government shelved plans for more than 420 small hydropower dams in October after a public outcry over safety. The backlash followed the deaths of dozens of people after operators felt no choice but to release water from reservoirs overwhelmed by heavy rains. Cambodia, too, is facing difficult questions about proposed new dams as alleged shoddy building resulted in dam collapses.
In Laos, opponents of a $3.5 billion dam on the Mekong River say they are upset about the potential impact on migrating fish stocks and how this might affect people downstream who depend on the river for their livelihoods.
Myanmar has halted construction of a large dam at Myitsone by Chinese developers.
"Governments, dam builders and the public at large are more aware of the serious social and environmental impacts of hydropower projects," said Peter Bosshard, policy director at activist group International Rivers, which campaigns against projects it doesn't feel are environmentally or socially sound.
But some governments aren't budging on hydropower, which they claim is a healthier, green alternative to dirty energy sources, such as coal.
Southeast Asia is growing increasingly hungry for energy, with demand expected to increase by more than 80% by 2035, according to the International Energy Agency. About $1.7 trillion of additional investment will be required to meet that. The region has a lot of catching up to do with its more developed neighbors; about 22% of Southeast Asia's population has no household access to electricity and clean cooking facilities, according to the IEA.
Hydropower accounted for some 10% of the region's energy supply in 2011, according to the energy agency. While that proportion is likely to increase to just 11% by 2035, energy experts say that the potential for development is huge, particularly on the Mekong River, a 5,000-kilometer (3,107-mile) waterway that runs through six countries, from China to Vietnam, and supplies an estimated 60 million people with water and food. Only 10% of the estimated hydroelectric potential in the Southeast Asian part of the river is developed, according to the Mekong River Commission, a multilateral organization founded in 1995 by countries sharing the river.
Laos is one such country. In line with its ambition to be the battery of Southeast Asia, its government gave the go-ahead last year for the development of the $3.5 billion dam at Xayaburi on the Mekong River, arguing it is environmentally sustainable. The decision was opposed by Vietnam and Cambodia and condemned by environmental groups for its defiance of an international agreement to suspend work until the dam's downstream impact could be fully assessed.
For the region's poorest countries, hydropower offers an opportunity for rapid economic development and foreign investment. In the case of Laos's Xayaburi, 95% of electricity the dam generates will go to Thailand.
"Laos is implementing the Thai electricity strategy, not the Laos electricity strategy," said Marc Goichot, a Mekong expert at the environmental group WWF.
Chong Chi Nai, director of energy for the Southeast Asia department at the Asian Development Bank, which has funded dam projects in the region, says Southeast Asia's hydropower potential still offers an attractive option to environmental groups.
"When developed in an environmentally and socially sustainable manner, [hydropower] will help to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels for power generation," Mr. Chong said.
--
Emily Jovais, Program Assistant
International Rivers
Skype: ejovais_ir
510-848-1155
________________________________________________
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By Jake Maxwell Watts, Wall Street Journal, February 23, 2014
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303448204579340180863634044
Hydropower dams in parts of Southeast Asia are being canceled or suspended as governments face stronger opposition, forcing them to take greater responsibility for environmental and social impact or look to other sources of energy.
The resistance, in a region where vast hydropower potential remains untapped, occurs as energy demand is skyrocketing. With dams facing opposition over social, environmental and geopolitical factors, the days of indiscriminate building may be coming to an end, requiring countries to reconsider energy security and energy sharing in Southeast Asia.
In Vietnam, the government shelved plans for more than 420 small hydropower dams in October after a public outcry over safety. The backlash followed the deaths of dozens of people after operators felt no choice but to release water from reservoirs overwhelmed by heavy rains. Cambodia, too, is facing difficult questions about proposed new dams as alleged shoddy building resulted in dam collapses.
In Laos, opponents of a $3.5 billion dam on the Mekong River say they are upset about the potential impact on migrating fish stocks and how this might affect people downstream who depend on the river for their livelihoods.
Myanmar has halted construction of a large dam at Myitsone by Chinese developers.
"Governments, dam builders and the public at large are more aware of the serious social and environmental impacts of hydropower projects," said Peter Bosshard, policy director at activist group International Rivers, which campaigns against projects it doesn't feel are environmentally or socially sound.
But some governments aren't budging on hydropower, which they claim is a healthier, green alternative to dirty energy sources, such as coal.
Southeast Asia is growing increasingly hungry for energy, with demand expected to increase by more than 80% by 2035, according to the International Energy Agency. About $1.7 trillion of additional investment will be required to meet that. The region has a lot of catching up to do with its more developed neighbors; about 22% of Southeast Asia's population has no household access to electricity and clean cooking facilities, according to the IEA.
Hydropower accounted for some 10% of the region's energy supply in 2011, according to the energy agency. While that proportion is likely to increase to just 11% by 2035, energy experts say that the potential for development is huge, particularly on the Mekong River, a 5,000-kilometer (3,107-mile) waterway that runs through six countries, from China to Vietnam, and supplies an estimated 60 million people with water and food. Only 10% of the estimated hydroelectric potential in the Southeast Asian part of the river is developed, according to the Mekong River Commission, a multilateral organization founded in 1995 by countries sharing the river.
Laos is one such country. In line with its ambition to be the battery of Southeast Asia, its government gave the go-ahead last year for the development of the $3.5 billion dam at Xayaburi on the Mekong River, arguing it is environmentally sustainable. The decision was opposed by Vietnam and Cambodia and condemned by environmental groups for its defiance of an international agreement to suspend work until the dam's downstream impact could be fully assessed.
For the region's poorest countries, hydropower offers an opportunity for rapid economic development and foreign investment. In the case of Laos's Xayaburi, 95% of electricity the dam generates will go to Thailand.
"Laos is implementing the Thai electricity strategy, not the Laos electricity strategy," said Marc Goichot, a Mekong expert at the environmental group WWF.
Chong Chi Nai, director of energy for the Southeast Asia department at the Asian Development Bank, which has funded dam projects in the region, says Southeast Asia's hydropower potential still offers an attractive option to environmental groups.
"When developed in an environmentally and socially sustainable manner, [hydropower] will help to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels for power generation," Mr. Chong said.
--
Emily Jovais, Program Assistant
International Rivers
Skype: ejovais_ir
510-848-1155
________________________________________________
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Friday, February 21, 2014
Africa's Hydropower Future (Hydro Review magazine)
http://www.hydroworld.com/articles/print/volume-22/issue-1/regional-profile/africa-s-hydropower-future.html
HRW-Hydro Review Worldwide
Africa's Hydropower Future
01/01/2014
A gradual process of development has started yielding results for African hydropower, with a swathe of international hydro and associated power export projects under way or planned. It seems that Africa is becoming a more attractive place to invest in infrastructure development, but what has changed?
By David Appleyard
It is well known that Africa has an abundance of hydropower resources, but it remains in desperate need of development, with the vast majority of the population lacking access to reliable electricity supplies. Africa holds about 12% of the world's hydropower potential, with a technically feasible output of about 1,800 TWh/year. Yet Africa produces only about 3% of the global hydropower and exploits less than 10% of its technical potential, the lowest proportion of any of the world's regions.
Hydroelectric facilities are being built and are operating in Africa, including this plant in Ghana.
Despite this, there is evidence of change in African hydro development, where installed capacity now exceeds 20 GW. In several African countries � for example Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda � hydropower accounts for over half of all electricity generation and there are numerous large hydropower projects under consideration or in development, too.
Changing face of African hydro
With obvious resources and demand, it is financial and political � as distinct from technical � challenges that have presented the biggest obstacles to African hydropower and all too often stymied much needed development. Perhaps the most obvious is a need for peace and political stability, but in the case of hydro development, strong political � often cross-border � and public support is needed, too. Transparent financial structures and independent regulatory authorities are also a fundamental requirement to attracting investment, as is energy sector reform in many cases.
In addition, negative perceptions of the environmental and social impact of large hydropower projects have lingered.
Alongside structural and political reform, though, there is evidence of a change in the perception of hydropower by institutional lenders and others.
Cross-border cooperation
The International Hydropower Association (IHA) observes in its latest outlook that for much of Africa, the integration of communities into national grids is seen as a stepping stone for development, and the provision of electricity and water services to business and industry remain an investment priority for economic progress. While conditions vary, they note that common challenges are capacity building, transparency and grid integration.
One of the key milestones in African hydropower development is an interconnected regional transmission system, a fact that is being increasingly recognized by African governments, which are now implementing a growing number of cooperative energy projects.
There are many interesting developments under way in this regard. For example, the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) was the first formal international power pool in Africa, created in 1996 with the aim of providing reliable and economical electricity supply to the consumers of the 12 member states: Angola, Botswana, DRC, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. A key objective is to co-ordinate and co-operate in the planning and operation of electricity power systems.
SAPP says it has made it possible for members to delay capital expenditure on new plants due to the existence of interconnections and the regional power pool. It does, however, note that a number of major challenges remain, including a lack of infrastructure, a lack of infrastructure maintenance, limited funds to finance new investment, insufficient generation and high losses.
Just about a decade later, in 2005, the Eastern African Power Pool (EAPP) was founded, comprising power utilities and regulators from Burundi, DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda and Sudan. EAPP now has nine countries and 13 utilities as members.
Major interconnection projects in the region are expected to be commissioned between 2014 and 2017, enabling power exchange among nine utilities and leading to the development of a regional market.
The IHA report notes that over the past decade the region has seen significant investment in both generation and transmission. In recent years, for example, Ethiopia began exporting electricity to Djibouti and Sudan. Elsewhere, Kenya plans to connect to Tanzania this year. Further connections are planned over the coming years from Ethiopia to Kenya and Eritrea, from Tanzania to Uganda and from Uganda to DRC and Rwanda.
Meanwhile, the West African Power Pool (WAPP) includes Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. As with its sister organizations, WAPP includes public and privately held generation, transmission and distribution companies and is designed to ensure regional power system integration.
Investment more attractive
Among the projects being facilitated by WAPP is a transmission line connecting Cote d'Ivoire through Liberia and Sierra Leone to Guinea � the CLSG Interconnection Project. In a crucial step in advancing the project, it secured African Development Fund (ADF) grants and a loan, a Nigeria Trust Fund (AfDB) loan of US$10 million, and an �10 million (US$13.7 million) EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund grant toward the cost of the line, due to be commissioned this year.
Indeed, many of the WAPP-supported projects are hydropower generation projects together with associated transmission and distribution, and this is a theme that has been extensively explored by institutional lenders. For instance, the African Development Bank is supporting large scale hydropower installations and is engaged with five such projects.
In 2012, African Heads of State endorsed a set of priority energy projects to be implemented by 2020 as part of the Programme for Infrastructure Development for Africa (PIDA), while the energy infrastructure program focuses on major hydroelectric projects and interconnections between the power pools. Nine hydro projects were identified for this phase, amounting to more than 50 GW of potential capacity and representing some 40% of the continent's actual installed capacity.
The bank is the executing agency for PIDA, and among the projects it is supporting is the Mphanda-Nkuwa project in Mozambique, which is at the financial closure stage.
Alex Rugamba, Director of AfDB's Energy, Environment and Climate Change Department, said, "Through this support, we hope to enable Mozambique to leverage its natural resources for growth and poverty reduction and to reduce its energy deficit."
The country is also endowed with abundant hydropower resources, second only to the DRC in the SADEC (Southern African Development Community Region).
ADB also is involved in a number of cross-border developments, such as the Inga hydropower projects in DRC, hydropower components of the Lesotho Highlands water project Phase II, and the Ruzizi III project in Rwanda, which will provide additional electricity capacity in Rwanda, Burundi and the DRC. It is the first regional public private partnership (PPP) power project in Africa.
More recently, AfDB approved a $113 million loan to support the electricity transmission development for the 80 MW run-of-river Rusumo Falls project that will supply Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi, with construction of the transmission facilities expected to be complete by August 2018. Rusumo Falls has also been supported by other institutional investors such as the World Bank, which approved a US$340 million loan last year for a project with a total cost of US$468.6 million.
In recent comments, Rugamba said infrastructure deficit was the biggest barrier to Africa's development, and the adoption of PIDA was a major milestone towards addressing this challenge. The bank has also provided support to infrastructure project preparation aimed at bringing projects to bankability. "This is extremely vital to unlock financing for these infrastructure projects," Rugamba stated.
While Africa is indeed bringing substantial financial support to the table, a key trend also identified by IHA is the increasingly global nature of hydropower investment. Africa is benefitting from this type of trans-national infrastructure investment. For instance, in the country's largest private sector investment to date, 2012 saw the commissioning of Uganda's 250 MW Bujagali hydro station, which meant electricity production exceeded demand for the first time.
Subsequently, in mid-2013, the country signed a deal with China's Sino-Hydro Group Ltd. for construction of the Karuma hydropower project on the White Nile. This 600 MW installation is backed by Chinese credit worth a reported 15% of the total $1.65 billion cost. In September 2013, Uganda's President, Yoweri Museveni, launched construction, now due for completion in 2018.
The USA is also reportedly considering financing some of the DRC's $12 billion Inga 3 project. According to a recent interview with Bloomberg, Rajiv Shah, head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, said Inga may be added to the $7 billion Power Africa program.
Indeed, it is potentially the scale of such investments that makes them opportunities for a multitude of players. In the case of the giant Grand Inga 3 project, three groups of companies are bidding to develop this 4,800 MW installation � China Three Gorges and Sinohydro, Posco and Daewoo in partnership with SNC-Lavalin, and Actividades de Construccion y Servicios SA and Eurofinsa Group.
But, according to media reports, Energy Minister Bruno Kapandji said at a recent mining and infrastructure conference: "We're open to other operators [joining the bid groups], the candidates are not closed." A development group is expected to be chosen next summer.
Along with these types of trans-national investment deals, private sector investment is also seeing growth. In 2012, for example, Tata Power and Exxaro formed a joint venture company to develop energy projects in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. Cennergi (Pty) Ltd will focus on the development, ownership, operation and management of electricity generation projects with an initial project pipeline focused on renewables.
Africa's hydropower future
International Commission on Large Dams President Adama Nombre, speaking at a recent African hydropower event, said that water storage and hydropower are at the heart of progress and welfare for the people and nations of Africa. In particular he noted that since the 2008 launch of the World Declaration for Africa, a new pace of development was now occurring in Africa, with large projects under way throughout the continent. Meanwhile, Michel de Vivo, ICOLD secretary-general, identified key elements for successful hydropower development, including securing the necessary investment, ensuring energy independence, and establishing regional stability by exporting power to neighbouring countries.
It seems that Africa's mighty rivers and abundant resources have at last produced a route to development, and with it bringing a multitude of direct and indirect benefits to its people.
David Appleyard is chief editor of HRW-Hydro Review Worldwide
________________________________________________
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HRW-Hydro Review Worldwide
Africa's Hydropower Future
01/01/2014
A gradual process of development has started yielding results for African hydropower, with a swathe of international hydro and associated power export projects under way or planned. It seems that Africa is becoming a more attractive place to invest in infrastructure development, but what has changed?
By David Appleyard
It is well known that Africa has an abundance of hydropower resources, but it remains in desperate need of development, with the vast majority of the population lacking access to reliable electricity supplies. Africa holds about 12% of the world's hydropower potential, with a technically feasible output of about 1,800 TWh/year. Yet Africa produces only about 3% of the global hydropower and exploits less than 10% of its technical potential, the lowest proportion of any of the world's regions.
Hydroelectric facilities are being built and are operating in Africa, including this plant in Ghana.
Despite this, there is evidence of change in African hydro development, where installed capacity now exceeds 20 GW. In several African countries � for example Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda � hydropower accounts for over half of all electricity generation and there are numerous large hydropower projects under consideration or in development, too.
Changing face of African hydro
With obvious resources and demand, it is financial and political � as distinct from technical � challenges that have presented the biggest obstacles to African hydropower and all too often stymied much needed development. Perhaps the most obvious is a need for peace and political stability, but in the case of hydro development, strong political � often cross-border � and public support is needed, too. Transparent financial structures and independent regulatory authorities are also a fundamental requirement to attracting investment, as is energy sector reform in many cases.
In addition, negative perceptions of the environmental and social impact of large hydropower projects have lingered.
Alongside structural and political reform, though, there is evidence of a change in the perception of hydropower by institutional lenders and others.
Cross-border cooperation
The International Hydropower Association (IHA) observes in its latest outlook that for much of Africa, the integration of communities into national grids is seen as a stepping stone for development, and the provision of electricity and water services to business and industry remain an investment priority for economic progress. While conditions vary, they note that common challenges are capacity building, transparency and grid integration.
One of the key milestones in African hydropower development is an interconnected regional transmission system, a fact that is being increasingly recognized by African governments, which are now implementing a growing number of cooperative energy projects.
There are many interesting developments under way in this regard. For example, the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) was the first formal international power pool in Africa, created in 1996 with the aim of providing reliable and economical electricity supply to the consumers of the 12 member states: Angola, Botswana, DRC, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. A key objective is to co-ordinate and co-operate in the planning and operation of electricity power systems.
SAPP says it has made it possible for members to delay capital expenditure on new plants due to the existence of interconnections and the regional power pool. It does, however, note that a number of major challenges remain, including a lack of infrastructure, a lack of infrastructure maintenance, limited funds to finance new investment, insufficient generation and high losses.
Just about a decade later, in 2005, the Eastern African Power Pool (EAPP) was founded, comprising power utilities and regulators from Burundi, DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda and Sudan. EAPP now has nine countries and 13 utilities as members.
Major interconnection projects in the region are expected to be commissioned between 2014 and 2017, enabling power exchange among nine utilities and leading to the development of a regional market.
The IHA report notes that over the past decade the region has seen significant investment in both generation and transmission. In recent years, for example, Ethiopia began exporting electricity to Djibouti and Sudan. Elsewhere, Kenya plans to connect to Tanzania this year. Further connections are planned over the coming years from Ethiopia to Kenya and Eritrea, from Tanzania to Uganda and from Uganda to DRC and Rwanda.
Meanwhile, the West African Power Pool (WAPP) includes Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. As with its sister organizations, WAPP includes public and privately held generation, transmission and distribution companies and is designed to ensure regional power system integration.
Investment more attractive
Among the projects being facilitated by WAPP is a transmission line connecting Cote d'Ivoire through Liberia and Sierra Leone to Guinea � the CLSG Interconnection Project. In a crucial step in advancing the project, it secured African Development Fund (ADF) grants and a loan, a Nigeria Trust Fund (AfDB) loan of US$10 million, and an �10 million (US$13.7 million) EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund grant toward the cost of the line, due to be commissioned this year.
Indeed, many of the WAPP-supported projects are hydropower generation projects together with associated transmission and distribution, and this is a theme that has been extensively explored by institutional lenders. For instance, the African Development Bank is supporting large scale hydropower installations and is engaged with five such projects.
In 2012, African Heads of State endorsed a set of priority energy projects to be implemented by 2020 as part of the Programme for Infrastructure Development for Africa (PIDA), while the energy infrastructure program focuses on major hydroelectric projects and interconnections between the power pools. Nine hydro projects were identified for this phase, amounting to more than 50 GW of potential capacity and representing some 40% of the continent's actual installed capacity.
The bank is the executing agency for PIDA, and among the projects it is supporting is the Mphanda-Nkuwa project in Mozambique, which is at the financial closure stage.
Alex Rugamba, Director of AfDB's Energy, Environment and Climate Change Department, said, "Through this support, we hope to enable Mozambique to leverage its natural resources for growth and poverty reduction and to reduce its energy deficit."
The country is also endowed with abundant hydropower resources, second only to the DRC in the SADEC (Southern African Development Community Region).
ADB also is involved in a number of cross-border developments, such as the Inga hydropower projects in DRC, hydropower components of the Lesotho Highlands water project Phase II, and the Ruzizi III project in Rwanda, which will provide additional electricity capacity in Rwanda, Burundi and the DRC. It is the first regional public private partnership (PPP) power project in Africa.
More recently, AfDB approved a $113 million loan to support the electricity transmission development for the 80 MW run-of-river Rusumo Falls project that will supply Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi, with construction of the transmission facilities expected to be complete by August 2018. Rusumo Falls has also been supported by other institutional investors such as the World Bank, which approved a US$340 million loan last year for a project with a total cost of US$468.6 million.
In recent comments, Rugamba said infrastructure deficit was the biggest barrier to Africa's development, and the adoption of PIDA was a major milestone towards addressing this challenge. The bank has also provided support to infrastructure project preparation aimed at bringing projects to bankability. "This is extremely vital to unlock financing for these infrastructure projects," Rugamba stated.
While Africa is indeed bringing substantial financial support to the table, a key trend also identified by IHA is the increasingly global nature of hydropower investment. Africa is benefitting from this type of trans-national infrastructure investment. For instance, in the country's largest private sector investment to date, 2012 saw the commissioning of Uganda's 250 MW Bujagali hydro station, which meant electricity production exceeded demand for the first time.
Subsequently, in mid-2013, the country signed a deal with China's Sino-Hydro Group Ltd. for construction of the Karuma hydropower project on the White Nile. This 600 MW installation is backed by Chinese credit worth a reported 15% of the total $1.65 billion cost. In September 2013, Uganda's President, Yoweri Museveni, launched construction, now due for completion in 2018.
The USA is also reportedly considering financing some of the DRC's $12 billion Inga 3 project. According to a recent interview with Bloomberg, Rajiv Shah, head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, said Inga may be added to the $7 billion Power Africa program.
Indeed, it is potentially the scale of such investments that makes them opportunities for a multitude of players. In the case of the giant Grand Inga 3 project, three groups of companies are bidding to develop this 4,800 MW installation � China Three Gorges and Sinohydro, Posco and Daewoo in partnership with SNC-Lavalin, and Actividades de Construccion y Servicios SA and Eurofinsa Group.
But, according to media reports, Energy Minister Bruno Kapandji said at a recent mining and infrastructure conference: "We're open to other operators [joining the bid groups], the candidates are not closed." A development group is expected to be chosen next summer.
Along with these types of trans-national investment deals, private sector investment is also seeing growth. In 2012, for example, Tata Power and Exxaro formed a joint venture company to develop energy projects in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. Cennergi (Pty) Ltd will focus on the development, ownership, operation and management of electricity generation projects with an initial project pipeline focused on renewables.
Africa's hydropower future
International Commission on Large Dams President Adama Nombre, speaking at a recent African hydropower event, said that water storage and hydropower are at the heart of progress and welfare for the people and nations of Africa. In particular he noted that since the 2008 launch of the World Declaration for Africa, a new pace of development was now occurring in Africa, with large projects under way throughout the continent. Meanwhile, Michel de Vivo, ICOLD secretary-general, identified key elements for successful hydropower development, including securing the necessary investment, ensuring energy independence, and establishing regional stability by exporting power to neighbouring countries.
It seems that Africa's mighty rivers and abundant resources have at last produced a route to development, and with it bringing a multitude of direct and indirect benefits to its people.
David Appleyard is chief editor of HRW-Hydro Review Worldwide
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Wednesday, February 19, 2014
PR: Ethiopia Land, Water Grabs Devastate Communities
The Gibe 3 Dam in Ethiopia will begin to fill in May, and land grabs are on the rise….Impacts will be felt all the way to Lake Turkana. A new film and a multimedia presentation explain what is happening in this troubled part of East Africa. International Rivers and Human Rights Watch released this joint press release on the issues today.
----------------
***To view video:
http://www.internationalrivers.org/node/8199
***To view multimedia feature:
www.hrw.org/node/123131
***To download satellite images:
http://multimedia.hrw.org/distribute/zgkqobvshc
Ethiopia: Land, Water Grabs Devastate Communities
Satellite Images Show Devastating Toll on 500,000 Pastoralists
(Nairobi, February 19, 2014) – New satellite imagery shows extensive clearance of land used by indigenous groups to make way for state-run sugar plantations in Ethiopia's Lower Omo Valley, Human Rights Watch and International Rivers said today. Virtually all of the traditional lands of the 7,000-member Bodi indigenous group have been cleared in the last 15 months, without adequate consultation or compensation. Human Rights Watch has also documented the forced resettlement of some indigenous people in the area.
The land clearing is part of a broader Ethiopian government development scheme in the Omo Valley, a United National Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site, including dam construction, sugar plantations, and commercial agriculture. The project will consume the vast majority of the water in the Omo River basin, potentially devastating the livelihoods of the 500,000 indigenous people in Ethiopia and neighboring Kenya who directly or indirectly rely on the Omo's waters for their livelihoods.
"Ethiopia can develop its land and resources but it shouldn't run roughshod over the rights of its indigenous communities," said Leslie Lefkow, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "The people who rely on the land for their livelihoods have the right to compensation and the right to reject plans that will completely transform their lives."
A prerequisite to the government's development plans for the Lower Omo Valley is the relocation of 150,000 indigenous people who live in the vicinity of the sugar plantations into permanent sedentary villages under the government's deeply unpopular "villagization" program. Under this program, people are to be moved into sedentary villages and provided with schools, clinics, and other infrastructure. As has been seen in other parts of Ethiopia, these movements are not all voluntary.
Satellite images analyzed by Human Rights Watch show devastating changes to the Lower Omo Valley between November 2010 and January 2013, with large areas originally used for grazing cleared of all vegetation and new roads and irrigation canals crisscrossing the valley. Lands critical for the livelihoods of the agro-pastoralist Bodi and Mursi peoples have been cleared for the sugar plantations. These changes are happening without their consent or compensation, local people told Human Rights Watch. Governments have a duty to consult and cooperate with indigenous people to obtain their free and informed consent prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other resources.
The imagery also shows the impact of a rudimentary dam built in July 2012 that diverted the waters of the Omo River into the sugar plantations. Water rapidly built up behind the shoddily built mud structure before breaking it twice. The reservoir created behind the dam forced approximately 200 Bodi families to flee to high ground, leaving behind their crops and their homes.
In a 2012 report Human Rights Watch warned of the risk to livelihoods and potential for increased conflict and food insecurity if the government continued to clear the land. The report also documented how government security forces used violence and intimidation to make communities in the Lower Omo Valley relocate from their traditional lands, threatening their entire way of life with no compensation or choice of alternative livelihoods.
The development in the Lower Omo Valley depends on the construction upstream of a much larger hydropower dam – the Gibe III, which will regulate river flows to support year-round commercial agriculture.
A new film produced by International Rivers, "A Cascade of Development on the Omo River," reveals how and why the Gibe III will cause hydrological havoc on both sides of the Kenya-Ethiopia border. Most significantly, the changes in river flow caused by the dam and associated irrigated plantations could cause a huge drop in the water levels of Lake Turkana, the world's largest desert lake and another UNESCO World Heritage site.
Lake Turkana receives 90 percent of its water from the Omo River and is projected to drop by about two meters during the initial filling of the dam, which is estimated to begin around May 2014. If current plans to create new plantations continue to move forward, the lake could drop as much as 16 to 22 meters. The average depth of the lake is just 31 meters.
The river flow past the Gibe III will be almost completely blocked beginning in 2014. According to government documents, it will take up to three years to fill the reservoir, during which the Omo River's annual flow could drop by as much as 70 percent. After this initial shock, regular dam operations will further devastate ecosystems and local livelihoods. Changes to the river's flooding regime will harm agricultural yields, prevent the replenishment of important grazing areas, and reduce fish populations, all critical resources for livelihoods of certain indigenous groups.
The government of Ethiopia should halt development of the sugar plantations and the water offtakes until affected indigenous communities have been properly consulted and give their free, prior, and informed consent to the developments, Human Rights Watch and International Rivers said. The impact of all planned developments in the Omo/Turkana basin on indigenous people's livelihoods should be assessed through a transparent, independent impact assessment process.
"If Ethiopia continues to bulldoze ahead with these developments, it will devastate the livelihoods of half a million people who depend on the Omo River," said Lori Pottinger, head of International Rivers' Ethiopia program. "It doesn't have to be this way – Ethiopia has options for managing this river more sustainably, and pursuing developments that won't harm the people who call this watershed home."
For more background information, please see below.
For more Human Rights Watch reporting on the Lower Omo Valley, please visit:
- http://www.hrw.org/reports/2012/06/18/what-will-happen-if-hunger-comes-0
- http://www.hrw.org/features/south-omo-pastoralists-forced-their-land
For more For more information, please contact:
In California, for International Rivers, Lori Pottinger (English): +510-848-1155 ext. 306; or lori@internationalrivers.org
In Ottawa, for Human Rights Watch, Felix Horne (English): +1-514-894-8629; or hornef@hrw.org
In Amsterdam, for Human Rights Watch, Leslie Lefkow (English): +31-621-597-356 (mobile); or lefkowl@hrw.org
In New York, for Human Rights Watch, Daniel Bekele (English, Amharic): +1-212-216-1223; or +1-917-385-3878; or bekeled@hrw.org
Background
Ethiopia's Lower Omo Valley is one of the most isolated and underdeveloped areas in East Africa. At least eight different groups call the Omo River Valley home and the livelihood of each of these groups is intimately tied to the Omo River and the surrounding lands. Many of the indigenous people that inhabit the valley are agro-pastoralist, growing crops along the Omo River and grazing cattle.
In 2010, Ethiopia announced plans for the construction of Africa's tallest dam, the 1,870 megawatt Gibe III dam on the Omo River. Controversy has dogged the Gibe III dam ever since. Of all the major funders who considered the dam, only China's Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) provided financing (the World Bank, African Development Bank, and European Investment Bank all declined to fund it, though the World Bank and African Development region in 2011, including the development of at least 245,000 hectares of irrigated state-run sugar plantations. Downstream, the water-intensive sugar plantations, will depend on irrigation canals. Although there have been some independent assessments of the Gibe dam project and its impact on river flow and Lake Turkana, to date the Ethiopian government has not published any environmental or social impact assessments for the sugar plantations and other commercial agricultural developments in the Omo valley.
According to the regional government plan for villagization in Lower Omo, the World Bank-supported Pastoral Community Development Project (PCDP) is funding some of the infrastructure in the new villages. Despite concerns over human rights abuses associated with the villagization program that were communicated to Bank management, in December 2013 the World Bank Board approved funding of the third phase of the PCDP III. PCDP III ostensibly provides much-needed services to pastoral communities throughout Ethiopia, but according to government documents PCDP also pays for infrastructure being used in the sedentary villages that pastoralists are being moved to.
The United States Congress in January included language in the 2014 Appropriations Act that puts conditions on US development assistance in the Lower Omo Valley requiring that there should be consultation with local communities; that the assistance "supports initiatives of local communities to improve their livelihoods"; and that no activities should be supported that directly or indirectly involve forced evictions.
However other donors have not publicly raised concerns about Ethiopia's Lower Omo development plans. Justine Greening, the British Secretary of State for International Development, in 2012 stated that her Department for International Development (DFID) was not able to "substantiate the human rights concerns" in the Lower Omo Valley despite DFID officials hearing these concerns directly from impacted communities in January 2012.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Villagers Want Compensation for Lower Sesan 2 Dam Construction
Villagers Want Compensation for Lower Sesan 2 Dam Construction
By Kuch Naren, The Cambodian Daily
February 14, 2014
A group of eight villagers from Stung Treng and Ratanakkiri provinces facing displacement by the construction of the Lower Sesan 2 dam lodged a petition Thursday with the Chinese Embassy and three ministries demanding that the developer negotiate with them.
“The affected families have never been consulted about the dam construction, even though we are going to lose everything,” said Puth Khoeun, a representative from Sesan district’s Srekor commune, after villagers handed petitions to the ministries of industry, mines and energy, finance, and environment, as well as the Chinese ambassador, asking for a public forum with the developer to discuss project details.
The 400-MW Lower Sesan 2 dam, which is being built by Hydropower Lower Sesan 2, a joint venture of local conglomerate Royal Group and Chinese firm Hydrolancang International Energy Co. Ltd., is expected to displace about 5,000 people living in the area.
Thursday’s action followed the distribution of two documents detailing compensation and relocation plans, “Mechanism and Procedures of Compensation,” and “Resettlement Policy of Lower Sesan 2 Dam” in Stung Treng, dated January 17 and signed by Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy Suy Sem.
A copy of the document on compensation states that the dam developers had agreed to compensate villagers for their fruit trees—with compensation ranging from $2 to $44 depending on the species of tree. The developer had also agreed to pay compensation for three Buddhist pagodas in the area should they need to be completely demolished.
But villagers who took part in Thursday’s event said they were concerned the planned resettlement site was in an unfertile area and that ancestral burial grounds might be destroyed without compensation.
“The resettlement site is only about 3 kilometers across the Sesan River where the land is very rocky and not fertile for farming,” said Mr. Khoeun.
He said that local villagers were particularly upset that they will not be compensated for burial grounds that will be flooded by the dam.
Tuon Taing, Phluk commune chief, said 16 families have accepted an offer of between $8,000 to $20,000 in compensation for their houses and land to avoid living in a resettlement site.
“Affected families have been offered compensation, I think that’s enough for them, he said. “The dam’s a good thing that will help develop the community and create more jobs.”
Work on the dam would start soon he added, noting that construction workers’ housing had already been erected and construction machinery sent to the site.
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/villagers-want-compensation-for-lower-sesan-2-dam-construction-52244/
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
DRC Mega-Dam to Be Funded by Private Sector, Groups Charge
DRC Mega-Dam to Be Funded by Private Sector, Groups Charge
By Carey L. Biron
IPS, February 11, 2014
www.ipsnews.net/2014/02/drc-mega-dam-funded-private-sector-groups-charge/
WASHINGTON, Feb 11 2014 - Watchdog groups here are warning that a deal
has been struck that would see Chinese investors fund a massive,
contentious dam on the Congo River, the first phase of a project that
could eventually be the largest hydroelectric project in the world.
Discussions around the Inga III dam proposal, in the Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC), have been taking place in some form for decades. They
have picked up speed over the past year, however, under the auspices of
the World Bank, the Washington-based development funder.
"Handing the project over to a private investor will make it even less
likely the country's poor people would benefit from the project." --
Peter Bosshard
On Tuesday, the bank's board of directors were to have voted on an
initial 73-million-dollar loan for the project, to be offered through
the International Development Association (IDA), the institution's
programme for the world's poorest countries. Last week, however, that
vote was abruptly postponed.
Now, civil society groups are reporting that the project may be going
forward instead under the World Bank's private-sector arm, the
International Finance Corporation (IFC), with the backing of Chinese
investors. Yet critics, who have long worried about the local social and
environmental impact of the Inga project, worry that greater involvement
by the private sector will result in skewed prioritisation of beneficiaries.
"Handing the project over to a private investor will make it even less
likely the country's poor people would benefit from the project," Peter
Bosshard, policy director for International Rivers, an advocacy group,
said Monday.
"The IFC deal was arranged behind closed doors without any
accountability to the DRC parliament, the World Bank's board of
directors, or civil society … Non-transparent deals such as the Inga 3
Dam are the best recipe for deepening corruption in the DRC. They will
not strengthen the public accountability that is necessary for social
and economic development."
Citing multiple sources within the bank, Bosshard says the decision to
change the Inga III funding modality appears to have been made between
high-level officials from the World Bank, the IFC and USAID, the U.S.
government's main foreign-aid arm, reportedly bypassing the bank's board
of directors. Thus far, none of these institutions have publicly
confirmed any deal.
"The World Bank Group is fully committed to supporting the Inga III
hydropower project, which has the potential to improve the lives of
millions of Africans," a bank spokesperson told IPS in a statement. "We
postponed presenting to our Board a Technical Assistance package related
to the design of the project's operation, but the project has not been
cancelled, and our commitment to Inga III is unchanged."
Primary beneficiaries
As currently envisioned, the Inga III dam would be the first in a series
of hydroelectric installations along the Congo River, collectively
referred to as the Grand Inga project. This would include a single 145
metre dam, which would flood an area known as the Bundi Valley, home to
around 30,000 people.
The full project could provide up to 40,000 megawatts of electricity, a
power potential that has been eyed hungrily by the rest of the continent
for decades. While DRC's chaotic governance has stymied forward progress
on the project for years, the Grand Inga vision received an important
boost last year when the South African government agreed to purchase a
substantial amount of power produced by Inga III.
The 12-billion-dollar dam is now supposed to be built by 2020 and,
according to Congolese government estimates from November, would produce
around 4,800 MW of electricity. Of this, 2,500 MW would go to South
Africa while another 1,300 MW would be earmarked for use by mines and
related industry in the province of Katanga.
"There is little indication that the dam development schemes underway
would address the issue of access to electricity for the population
at-large; industrial users stand to be the primary beneficiaries,"
Maurice Carney, executive director of Friends of the Congo, an advocacy
group here, told IPS.
"Only 10 percent of Congo's population has access to electricity and the
situation is even worse for rural population, where only 1 percent has
access to electricity. For a country like the DRC that is endowed with a
plethora of alternative energy options, smaller-scale renewable energy
technologies would be the best way forward."
Carney and others are calling for a cumulative assessment of the Grand
Inga scheme, to include study of all social and environmental impacts.
Indeed, these have been longstanding concerns, but now some development
advocates worry that greater private sector involvement in the Inga III
project will further exacerbate such issues.
"We have questions about whether the scheme can deliver any development
at all in the hands of the private sector," Joshua Klemm, manager of the
Africa programme at the Bank Information Center, a watchdog group here
that focuses on the World Bank, told IPS.
"For good or bad, if this project belongs to the Congolese government,
there's at least some hope to expand electricity access in the country.
That would go out the window if we're talking about a purely private
sector project."
Duelling U.S. stances
As the Inga III project picked up momentum in recent months, USAID too
expressed its interest in the proposal. The agency's administrator,
Rajiv Shah, visited the Inga III dam site in mid-December, and stated
that the proposal could be added to a new, large-scale initiative by the
United States to significantly increase electrification across Africa.
Although USAID was unable to comment for this story by deadline, any
involvement by the agency in brokering a deal with the IFC would be
interesting. Just last month, the U.S. Congress passed a landmark new
law requiring the U.S. Treasury to formally vote against multilateral
funding for large-scale hydroelectric projects in developing countries.
The new provisions, contained in a huge appropriations bill funding the
federal government, impact both on bilateral U.S. funding through
agencies such as USAID, as well as on the significant contributions that
the United States provides to multilateral development institutions,
particularly the World Bank. (The U.S. Treasury was unable to comment by
deadline.)
"Under the [appropriations] language, the United States will have to
oppose the Inga III dam at the IFC as much as it would have had to do
this if it were an IDA project," International Rivers' Bosshard told
IPS. "There's no difference there, but it is ironic that the USAID
administrator would have pushed the deal."
________________________________________________
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By Carey L. Biron
IPS, February 11, 2014
www.ipsnews.net/2014/02/drc-mega-dam-funded-private-sector-groups-charge/
WASHINGTON, Feb 11 2014 - Watchdog groups here are warning that a deal
has been struck that would see Chinese investors fund a massive,
contentious dam on the Congo River, the first phase of a project that
could eventually be the largest hydroelectric project in the world.
Discussions around the Inga III dam proposal, in the Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC), have been taking place in some form for decades. They
have picked up speed over the past year, however, under the auspices of
the World Bank, the Washington-based development funder.
"Handing the project over to a private investor will make it even less
likely the country's poor people would benefit from the project." --
Peter Bosshard
On Tuesday, the bank's board of directors were to have voted on an
initial 73-million-dollar loan for the project, to be offered through
the International Development Association (IDA), the institution's
programme for the world's poorest countries. Last week, however, that
vote was abruptly postponed.
Now, civil society groups are reporting that the project may be going
forward instead under the World Bank's private-sector arm, the
International Finance Corporation (IFC), with the backing of Chinese
investors. Yet critics, who have long worried about the local social and
environmental impact of the Inga project, worry that greater involvement
by the private sector will result in skewed prioritisation of beneficiaries.
"Handing the project over to a private investor will make it even less
likely the country's poor people would benefit from the project," Peter
Bosshard, policy director for International Rivers, an advocacy group,
said Monday.
"The IFC deal was arranged behind closed doors without any
accountability to the DRC parliament, the World Bank's board of
directors, or civil society … Non-transparent deals such as the Inga 3
Dam are the best recipe for deepening corruption in the DRC. They will
not strengthen the public accountability that is necessary for social
and economic development."
Citing multiple sources within the bank, Bosshard says the decision to
change the Inga III funding modality appears to have been made between
high-level officials from the World Bank, the IFC and USAID, the U.S.
government's main foreign-aid arm, reportedly bypassing the bank's board
of directors. Thus far, none of these institutions have publicly
confirmed any deal.
"The World Bank Group is fully committed to supporting the Inga III
hydropower project, which has the potential to improve the lives of
millions of Africans," a bank spokesperson told IPS in a statement. "We
postponed presenting to our Board a Technical Assistance package related
to the design of the project's operation, but the project has not been
cancelled, and our commitment to Inga III is unchanged."
Primary beneficiaries
As currently envisioned, the Inga III dam would be the first in a series
of hydroelectric installations along the Congo River, collectively
referred to as the Grand Inga project. This would include a single 145
metre dam, which would flood an area known as the Bundi Valley, home to
around 30,000 people.
The full project could provide up to 40,000 megawatts of electricity, a
power potential that has been eyed hungrily by the rest of the continent
for decades. While DRC's chaotic governance has stymied forward progress
on the project for years, the Grand Inga vision received an important
boost last year when the South African government agreed to purchase a
substantial amount of power produced by Inga III.
The 12-billion-dollar dam is now supposed to be built by 2020 and,
according to Congolese government estimates from November, would produce
around 4,800 MW of electricity. Of this, 2,500 MW would go to South
Africa while another 1,300 MW would be earmarked for use by mines and
related industry in the province of Katanga.
"There is little indication that the dam development schemes underway
would address the issue of access to electricity for the population
at-large; industrial users stand to be the primary beneficiaries,"
Maurice Carney, executive director of Friends of the Congo, an advocacy
group here, told IPS.
"Only 10 percent of Congo's population has access to electricity and the
situation is even worse for rural population, where only 1 percent has
access to electricity. For a country like the DRC that is endowed with a
plethora of alternative energy options, smaller-scale renewable energy
technologies would be the best way forward."
Carney and others are calling for a cumulative assessment of the Grand
Inga scheme, to include study of all social and environmental impacts.
Indeed, these have been longstanding concerns, but now some development
advocates worry that greater private sector involvement in the Inga III
project will further exacerbate such issues.
"We have questions about whether the scheme can deliver any development
at all in the hands of the private sector," Joshua Klemm, manager of the
Africa programme at the Bank Information Center, a watchdog group here
that focuses on the World Bank, told IPS.
"For good or bad, if this project belongs to the Congolese government,
there's at least some hope to expand electricity access in the country.
That would go out the window if we're talking about a purely private
sector project."
Duelling U.S. stances
As the Inga III project picked up momentum in recent months, USAID too
expressed its interest in the proposal. The agency's administrator,
Rajiv Shah, visited the Inga III dam site in mid-December, and stated
that the proposal could be added to a new, large-scale initiative by the
United States to significantly increase electrification across Africa.
Although USAID was unable to comment for this story by deadline, any
involvement by the agency in brokering a deal with the IFC would be
interesting. Just last month, the U.S. Congress passed a landmark new
law requiring the U.S. Treasury to formally vote against multilateral
funding for large-scale hydroelectric projects in developing countries.
The new provisions, contained in a huge appropriations bill funding the
federal government, impact both on bilateral U.S. funding through
agencies such as USAID, as well as on the significant contributions that
the United States provides to multilateral development institutions,
particularly the World Bank. (The U.S. Treasury was unable to comment by
deadline.)
"Under the [appropriations] language, the United States will have to
oppose the Inga III dam at the IFC as much as it would have had to do
this if it were an IDA project," International Rivers' Bosshard told
IPS. "There's no difference there, but it is ironic that the USAID
administrator would have pushed the deal."
________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org
To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp
Monday, February 10, 2014
Gov¹t urged to review Thanlwin hydropower dam projects, Chinese-built dam in Cambodia starts testing operation
Gov’t urged to review Thanlwin hydropower dam projects
Eleven Myanmar, 11 February 2014
YANGON - The Myanmar government must review hydro-power projects being planned on the Thanlwin River, according to Karen Rivers Watch and environmental activists.
Critics argue that the projects, hatched under the last military government, will only serve the interests China and Thailand leaving little benefit for ethnic communities in Shan, Kayah, Kayin and Mon states.
“Mon State lies at the end of Thanlwin’s course. Although the dams will not be constructed in Mon State, the disadvantages can be harmful to the residents due to less flow of water which will affect crops. The locals don’t know about the environmental and social impact assessment,” said Saw Thar Boe from Karen Rivers Watch.
The Thanlwin River flows 2,820 Kilometres from the Tibetan plateau down to the Andaman Sea making it the 26th longest river in the world, criss-crossing most of Myanmar’s ethnic minority areas.
Chinese and Thai firms have planned to invest billions of U.S. dollars for the construction of six hydropower projects on the Thanlwin River together with military-connected companies such as Shwe Taung, Asia World and IGE.
Campaigners have decried the lack of transparency and stepped up their demands for a full government disclosure to make their plans public. They raised fears that ethnic communities could suffer serious social and economic disadvantages, as well as environmental degradation should the dams go ahead.
A petition against the Thanlwin Hydropower projects is being launched and will be submitted not only to the President and the Ministry of Electric Power but also to firms from China and Thailand.
Campaigners will also raise the issue with the World Bank and Asia Development Bank to mark the International Day Against Dams on March 14.
“Most of the firms are going to get investment loans from the banks like World Bank. They say that they are surveying the environmental and social impact assessments to avoid harming the locals. That’s why we must know exactly who is involved,” said Saw Thar Boe.
“If the entire people will object to the building of the projects, the organisations that are now lending the loans can withdraw their mortgage. We haven’t agreed to these projects. The authorities should discuss these issues in the parliament,” he added.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced from their homes because of armed conflict in ethnic areas bordering the Thanlwin River over the last few decades.
Such centrally driven development projects may also jeopardise attempts by the government to forge a nation-wide peace agreement with a dozen armed groups, exacerbating grievances that may lead to more conflict.
“The chosen sites are located in the conflict areas between the government’s army and the ethnic groups. The government are doing the projects without locals’ approval. In doing so, not only can cancel the internal peace process but also can break out the trust building on the government,” said an officer from Kachin Peace Network.
The six-hydropower projects intend to send 90 percent of the electricity produced to China and Thailand. Up to now, there has been no transparency as to how the government plans to distribute the remaining power, according to mineralogist Saw Moe Myint.
The Chinese firms such as Hanergy Holding Company, Hydrochina Corporation, China Three Corporation, China Datang Over Seas Investment and Sinohydro and EGAT International Co, Ltd from Thailand are all involved in the six hydropower project.
Chinese-built dam in Cambodia starts testing operation
Global Times, 9 February 2014
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/841301.shtml#.UvmTtPYb62A
The Lower Russei Chrum River hydroelectric dam, which is the Cambodia's largest hydropower plant, has begun testing operation after it has been constructed for three and a half years, a company's official said on Saturday.
The 338-megawatt hydropower dam, situated in the jungle in Mondol Sima district of southwestern Koh Kong province, was developed by the giant power company China Huadian Corp for a cost of US$500 million under a 35-year build-operate-transfer contract.
Under terms of the agreement, the plant sells power to the state-owned Electricity of Cambodia.
Le Jianhua, deputy general manager of China Huadian Lower Russei Chrum River Hydroelectric Project Company, said the firm has completed the construction of the dam nine months earlier than the schedule.
He said the dam has two reservoirs and four generators. "We have tested the operation since December last year. Up to now, the plant has supplied 190 million kwh to the Electricity of Cambodia," he told reporters, adding that the dam is capable to generate the power of 1 billion kwh per year.
"It is the first-ever largest hydroelectric plant in Cambodia at the moment," he said.
Cambodia has a serious shortage of power facilities. Only about 35% of its households have access to reliable electricity, according to the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
"The operation of the dam will contribute to developing economic activities and further reduce electricity shortage in Cambodia," Le Jianhua said.
China is the largest investor in building hydroelectric dams in the Southeast Asian nation. According to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Chinese companies have invested over US$1.6 billion to construct six hydroelectric dams with the total capacity of 928 megawatts in Cambodia.
To date, four dams have come into operations, and the remaining two dams are expected to be completed by next year.
The World Bank's Inga 3 Project Goes From Bad to Worse
The World Bank's Inga 3 Project Goes From Bad to Worse
By Peter Bosshard
International Rivers, February 10, 2014
www.internationalrivers.org/node/8231
The Inga 3 Dam on the Congo River, which has incited the dreams of dam
builders and investors for three decades, was finally scheduled to
receive its first grant from the World Bank on February 10. Last week
the Bank added another twist to the Inga saga and withdrew the project
from its board calendar. Working with a Chinese company, the Bank now
plans to develop the dam as a private investment through the
International Finance Corporation (IFC), rather than as a public
project. This is bad news for poor people and the environment in the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
With a capacity of 4,800 megawatts and a price tag of $12 billion, Inga
3 is the World Bank's biggest ever hydropower project. The IFC has no
expertise in developing such complex projects. The biggest hydropower
project it has ever managed is the 600 megawatt Upper Marsyangdi 2 Dam
in Nepal. Because wind and solar projects are becoming ever more
attractive, the IFC's support for hydropower projects has shrunk from
$300 million to a mere $50 million per year since 2008.
The IFC has a poor social and environmental track record. Only in recent
months, the Corporation was admonished by its own ombudsperson for human
rights violations and other abuses in the Tata Mundra thermal power
plant in India and the Dinant oil palm project in Honduras. The Upper
Marsyangdi 2 Project was rocked by strikes as well. International Rivers
has documented that the planned Environmental Impact Assessment for Inga
3 falls short of good international practice. We can expect further
environmental short-cuts and compromises if the project is developed by
IFC and private investors.
The mining sector and other heavy industries consume 85 percent of all
the power generated in the DRC. Less than 10 percent of the country's
population has access to electricity. Increasing access is the highest
development priority for the DRC's energy sector. Yet this is of no
interest to private investors. A World Bank evaluation of the power
sector found in 2003: "In most countries, the rural poor tend to be
overlooked because private operators are reluctant to serve low-income
clients given that these markets are not financially viable on a
freestanding basis."
Similarly, Ali Mbuyi Tshimpanga, the director of the existing Inga
hydropower station, warns: "The problem is that, with a public-private
partnership, you patch up only the part of the grid that interests the
private financiers. It's of almost no benefit to the community." The
Inga 3 Dam is designed to serve mining companies and the South African
market. If it is developed as a private investment, poor consumers are
bound to be excluded from its benefits.
As International Rivers has learned from internal sources, the IFC deal
was arranged by the heads of the World Bank, IFC and USAID behind the
scenes, without any accountability to the DRC parliament, the World
Bank's board of directors and civil society. Such elitist,
non-democratic approaches will not bring about broad-based development
in the DRC. Non-transparent deals like Inga 3 are the best recipe to
entrench corruption in the country further.
Public support for a privatized Inga 3 Project becomes ever more
indefensible. International Rivers will continue to oppose destructive
mega-dams in the DRC and other countries, and will promote clean local
energy solutions that are more effective at reducing poverty and
protecting the environment.
Peter Bosshard is the Policy Director of International Rivers. He tweets
at @PeterBosshard.
________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org
To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp
By Peter Bosshard
International Rivers, February 10, 2014
www.internationalrivers.org/node/8231
The Inga 3 Dam on the Congo River, which has incited the dreams of dam
builders and investors for three decades, was finally scheduled to
receive its first grant from the World Bank on February 10. Last week
the Bank added another twist to the Inga saga and withdrew the project
from its board calendar. Working with a Chinese company, the Bank now
plans to develop the dam as a private investment through the
International Finance Corporation (IFC), rather than as a public
project. This is bad news for poor people and the environment in the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
With a capacity of 4,800 megawatts and a price tag of $12 billion, Inga
3 is the World Bank's biggest ever hydropower project. The IFC has no
expertise in developing such complex projects. The biggest hydropower
project it has ever managed is the 600 megawatt Upper Marsyangdi 2 Dam
in Nepal. Because wind and solar projects are becoming ever more
attractive, the IFC's support for hydropower projects has shrunk from
$300 million to a mere $50 million per year since 2008.
The IFC has a poor social and environmental track record. Only in recent
months, the Corporation was admonished by its own ombudsperson for human
rights violations and other abuses in the Tata Mundra thermal power
plant in India and the Dinant oil palm project in Honduras. The Upper
Marsyangdi 2 Project was rocked by strikes as well. International Rivers
has documented that the planned Environmental Impact Assessment for Inga
3 falls short of good international practice. We can expect further
environmental short-cuts and compromises if the project is developed by
IFC and private investors.
The mining sector and other heavy industries consume 85 percent of all
the power generated in the DRC. Less than 10 percent of the country's
population has access to electricity. Increasing access is the highest
development priority for the DRC's energy sector. Yet this is of no
interest to private investors. A World Bank evaluation of the power
sector found in 2003: "In most countries, the rural poor tend to be
overlooked because private operators are reluctant to serve low-income
clients given that these markets are not financially viable on a
freestanding basis."
Similarly, Ali Mbuyi Tshimpanga, the director of the existing Inga
hydropower station, warns: "The problem is that, with a public-private
partnership, you patch up only the part of the grid that interests the
private financiers. It's of almost no benefit to the community." The
Inga 3 Dam is designed to serve mining companies and the South African
market. If it is developed as a private investment, poor consumers are
bound to be excluded from its benefits.
As International Rivers has learned from internal sources, the IFC deal
was arranged by the heads of the World Bank, IFC and USAID behind the
scenes, without any accountability to the DRC parliament, the World
Bank's board of directors and civil society. Such elitist,
non-democratic approaches will not bring about broad-based development
in the DRC. Non-transparent deals like Inga 3 are the best recipe to
entrench corruption in the country further.
Public support for a privatized Inga 3 Project becomes ever more
indefensible. International Rivers will continue to oppose destructive
mega-dams in the DRC and other countries, and will promote clean local
energy solutions that are more effective at reducing poverty and
protecting the environment.
Peter Bosshard is the Policy Director of International Rivers. He tweets
at @PeterBosshard.
________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org
To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp
The World Bank's Inga 3 Project Goes From Bad to Worse
The World Bank's Inga 3 Project Goes From Bad to Worse
By Peter Bosshard
International Rivers, February 10, 2014
www.internationalrivers.org/node/8231
The Inga 3 Dam on the Congo River, which has incited the dreams of dam
builders and investors for three decades, was finally scheduled to
receive its first grant from the World Bank on February 10. Last week
the Bank added another twist to the Inga saga and withdrew the project
from its board calendar. Working with a Chinese company, the Bank now
plans to develop the dam as a private investment through the
International Finance Corporation (IFC), rather than as a public
project. This is bad news for poor people and the environment in the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
With a capacity of 4,800 megawatts and a price tag of $12 billion, Inga
3 is the World Bank's biggest ever hydropower project. The IFC has no
expertise in developing such complex projects. The biggest hydropower
project it has ever managed is the 600 megawatt Upper Marsyangdi 2 Dam
in Nepal. Because wind and solar projects are becoming ever more
attractive, the IFC's support for hydropower projects has shrunk from
$300 million to a mere $50 million per year since 2008.
The IFC has a poor social and environmental track record. Only in recent
months, the Corporation was admonished by its own ombudsperson for human
rights violations and other abuses in the Tata Mundra thermal power
plant in India and the Dinant oil palm project in Honduras. The Upper
Marsyangdi 2 Project was rocked by strikes as well. International Rivers
has documented that the planned Environmental Impact Assessment for Inga
3 falls short of good international practice. We can expect further
environmental short-cuts and compromises if the project is developed by
IFC and private investors.
The mining sector and other heavy industries consume 85 percent of all
the power generated in the DRC. Less than 10 percent of the country's
population has access to electricity. Increasing access is the highest
development priority for the DRC's energy sector. Yet this is of no
interest to private investors. A World Bank evaluation of the power
sector found in 2003: "In most countries, the rural poor tend to be
overlooked because private operators are reluctant to serve low-income
clients given that these markets are not financially viable on a
freestanding basis."
Similarly, Ali Mbuyi Tshimpanga, the director of the existing Inga
hydropower station, warns: "The problem is that, with a public-private
partnership, you patch up only the part of the grid that interests the
private financiers. It's of almost no benefit to the community." The
Inga 3 Dam is designed to serve mining companies and the South African
market. If it is developed as a private investment, poor consumers are
bound to be excluded from its benefits.
As International Rivers has learned from internal sources, the IFC deal
was arranged by the heads of the World Bank, IFC and USAID behind the
scenes, without any accountability to the DRC parliament, the World
Bank's board of directors and civil society. Such elitist,
non-democratic approaches will not bring about broad-based development
in the DRC. Non-transparent deals like Inga 3 are the best recipe to
entrench corruption in the country further.
Public support for a privatized Inga 3 Project becomes ever more
indefensible. International Rivers will continue to oppose destructive
mega-dams in the DRC and other countries, and will promote clean local
energy solutions that are more effective at reducing poverty and
protecting the environment.
Peter Bosshard is the Policy Director of International Rivers. He tweets
at @PeterBosshard.
________________________________________________
This is International Rivers' mailing list on the role of international financial institutions in promoting large dams.
You received this message as a subscriber on the list: ifi@list.internationalrivers.org
To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp
By Peter Bosshard
International Rivers, February 10, 2014
www.internationalrivers.org/node/8231
The Inga 3 Dam on the Congo River, which has incited the dreams of dam
builders and investors for three decades, was finally scheduled to
receive its first grant from the World Bank on February 10. Last week
the Bank added another twist to the Inga saga and withdrew the project
from its board calendar. Working with a Chinese company, the Bank now
plans to develop the dam as a private investment through the
International Finance Corporation (IFC), rather than as a public
project. This is bad news for poor people and the environment in the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
With a capacity of 4,800 megawatts and a price tag of $12 billion, Inga
3 is the World Bank's biggest ever hydropower project. The IFC has no
expertise in developing such complex projects. The biggest hydropower
project it has ever managed is the 600 megawatt Upper Marsyangdi 2 Dam
in Nepal. Because wind and solar projects are becoming ever more
attractive, the IFC's support for hydropower projects has shrunk from
$300 million to a mere $50 million per year since 2008.
The IFC has a poor social and environmental track record. Only in recent
months, the Corporation was admonished by its own ombudsperson for human
rights violations and other abuses in the Tata Mundra thermal power
plant in India and the Dinant oil palm project in Honduras. The Upper
Marsyangdi 2 Project was rocked by strikes as well. International Rivers
has documented that the planned Environmental Impact Assessment for Inga
3 falls short of good international practice. We can expect further
environmental short-cuts and compromises if the project is developed by
IFC and private investors.
The mining sector and other heavy industries consume 85 percent of all
the power generated in the DRC. Less than 10 percent of the country's
population has access to electricity. Increasing access is the highest
development priority for the DRC's energy sector. Yet this is of no
interest to private investors. A World Bank evaluation of the power
sector found in 2003: "In most countries, the rural poor tend to be
overlooked because private operators are reluctant to serve low-income
clients given that these markets are not financially viable on a
freestanding basis."
Similarly, Ali Mbuyi Tshimpanga, the director of the existing Inga
hydropower station, warns: "The problem is that, with a public-private
partnership, you patch up only the part of the grid that interests the
private financiers. It's of almost no benefit to the community." The
Inga 3 Dam is designed to serve mining companies and the South African
market. If it is developed as a private investment, poor consumers are
bound to be excluded from its benefits.
As International Rivers has learned from internal sources, the IFC deal
was arranged by the heads of the World Bank, IFC and USAID behind the
scenes, without any accountability to the DRC parliament, the World
Bank's board of directors and civil society. Such elitist,
non-democratic approaches will not bring about broad-based development
in the DRC. Non-transparent deals like Inga 3 are the best recipe to
entrench corruption in the country further.
Public support for a privatized Inga 3 Project becomes ever more
indefensible. International Rivers will continue to oppose destructive
mega-dams in the DRC and other countries, and will promote clean local
energy solutions that are more effective at reducing poverty and
protecting the environment.
Peter Bosshard is the Policy Director of International Rivers. He tweets
at @PeterBosshard.
________________________________________________
This is International Rivers' mailing list on the role of international financial institutions in promoting large dams.
You received this message as a subscriber on the list: ifi@list.internationalrivers.org
To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp
Friday, February 7, 2014
Upper Arun Dam to move ahead under World Bank support
Upper Arun to move ahead under World Bank support
Kantipur, 5 Feb, 2014
http://cignepal.org.np/news/upper-arun-move-ahead-under-world-bank-support
Kathmandu, January 4: The government with financial support from the
World Bank is taking ahead the 335 megawatts Upper Arun hydropower
project. The government proposed developing the Upper Arun hydropower
project after World Bank expressed interest in investing in a hydropower
project. Upper Arun is considered is a low investment project.
The World Bank has assured of providing concessional loan for the
development of the project. A World Bank team is current in Nepal to
inspect the project, which is estimated to cost Rs 45 billion.
At a function organized at the energy ministry on Tuesday Managing
Director of Nepal Electricity Authority Arjun Kumar Karki had briefed
the World Bank officials about the feasibility of Upper Arun. He also
assured the World Bank officials that the project is attractive in terms
of cost and returns on investment.
According to Karki, per unit cost of generating electricity through the
project by 2021 would stand at Rs 2.75. He said Upper Arun is one of
the most attractive projects as it would produce "stable energy" at a
low cost. The project would generate 245 megawatts of electricity even
during the dry season.
The World Bank officials have assured of investment in the project. The
meeting was also attended by energy secretary Bishwa Prakash Pandit. The
World Bank team is paying an inspection visit to the project site on
Wednesday. The World Bank team would submit its report to the World
Bank board of directors. The World Bank would then take an official
decision regarding support to the project.
The Nepal Electricity Authority is conducting detailed engineering study
on the project from this year. The cabinet has already decided to
develop this project through the NEA. The government has already
allocated Rs 100 million to conduct detailed engineering study on the
project in this fiscal year.
________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list: sasia@list.internationalrivers.org
To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp
Kantipur, 5 Feb, 2014
http://cignepal.org.np/news/upper-arun-move-ahead-under-world-bank-support
Kathmandu, January 4: The government with financial support from the
World Bank is taking ahead the 335 megawatts Upper Arun hydropower
project. The government proposed developing the Upper Arun hydropower
project after World Bank expressed interest in investing in a hydropower
project. Upper Arun is considered is a low investment project.
The World Bank has assured of providing concessional loan for the
development of the project. A World Bank team is current in Nepal to
inspect the project, which is estimated to cost Rs 45 billion.
At a function organized at the energy ministry on Tuesday Managing
Director of Nepal Electricity Authority Arjun Kumar Karki had briefed
the World Bank officials about the feasibility of Upper Arun. He also
assured the World Bank officials that the project is attractive in terms
of cost and returns on investment.
According to Karki, per unit cost of generating electricity through the
project by 2021 would stand at Rs 2.75. He said Upper Arun is one of
the most attractive projects as it would produce "stable energy" at a
low cost. The project would generate 245 megawatts of electricity even
during the dry season.
The World Bank officials have assured of investment in the project. The
meeting was also attended by energy secretary Bishwa Prakash Pandit. The
World Bank team is paying an inspection visit to the project site on
Wednesday. The World Bank team would submit its report to the World
Bank board of directors. The World Bank would then take an official
decision regarding support to the project.
The Nepal Electricity Authority is conducting detailed engineering study
on the project from this year. The cabinet has already decided to
develop this project through the NEA. The government has already
allocated Rs 100 million to conduct detailed engineering study on the
project in this fiscal year.
________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list: sasia@list.internationalrivers.org
To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp
Nepal: Upper Arun Dam to move ahead under World Bank support
Upper Arun to move ahead under World Bank support
Kantipur, 5 Feb, 2014
http://cignepal.org.np/news/upper-arun-move-ahead-under-world-bank-support
Kathmandu, January 4: The government with financial support from the
World Bank is taking ahead the 335 megawatts Upper Arun hydropower
project. The government proposed developing the Upper Arun hydropower
project after World Bank expressed interest in investing in a hydropower
project. Upper Arun is considered is a low investment project.
The World Bank has assured of providing concessional loan for the
development of the project. A World Bank team is current in Nepal to
inspect the project, which is estimated to cost Rs 45 billion.
At a function organized at the energy ministry on Tuesday Managing
Director of Nepal Electricity Authority Arjun Kumar Karki had briefed
the World Bank officials about the feasibility of Upper Arun. He also
assured the World Bank officials that the project is attractive in terms
of cost and returns on investment.
According to Karki, per unit cost of generating electricity through the
project by 2021 would stand at Rs 2.75. He said Upper Arun is one of
the most attractive projects as it would produce "stable energy" at a
low cost. The project would generate 245 megawatts of electricity even
during the dry season.
The World Bank officials have assured of investment in the project. The
meeting was also attended by energy secretary Bishwa Prakash Pandit. The
World Bank team is paying an inspection visit to the project site on
Wednesday. The World Bank team would submit its report to the World
Bank board of directors. The World Bank would then take an official
decision regarding support to the project.
The Nepal Electricity Authority is conducting detailed engineering study
on the project from this year. The cabinet has already decided to
develop this project through the NEA. The government has already
allocated Rs 100 million to conduct detailed engineering study on the
project in this fiscal year.
________________________________________________
This is International Rivers' mailing list on the role of international financial institutions in promoting large dams.
You received this message as a subscriber on the list: ifi@list.internationalrivers.org
To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp
Kantipur, 5 Feb, 2014
http://cignepal.org.np/news/upper-arun-move-ahead-under-world-bank-support
Kathmandu, January 4: The government with financial support from the
World Bank is taking ahead the 335 megawatts Upper Arun hydropower
project. The government proposed developing the Upper Arun hydropower
project after World Bank expressed interest in investing in a hydropower
project. Upper Arun is considered is a low investment project.
The World Bank has assured of providing concessional loan for the
development of the project. A World Bank team is current in Nepal to
inspect the project, which is estimated to cost Rs 45 billion.
At a function organized at the energy ministry on Tuesday Managing
Director of Nepal Electricity Authority Arjun Kumar Karki had briefed
the World Bank officials about the feasibility of Upper Arun. He also
assured the World Bank officials that the project is attractive in terms
of cost and returns on investment.
According to Karki, per unit cost of generating electricity through the
project by 2021 would stand at Rs 2.75. He said Upper Arun is one of
the most attractive projects as it would produce "stable energy" at a
low cost. The project would generate 245 megawatts of electricity even
during the dry season.
The World Bank officials have assured of investment in the project. The
meeting was also attended by energy secretary Bishwa Prakash Pandit. The
World Bank team is paying an inspection visit to the project site on
Wednesday. The World Bank team would submit its report to the World
Bank board of directors. The World Bank would then take an official
decision regarding support to the project.
The Nepal Electricity Authority is conducting detailed engineering study
on the project from this year. The cabinet has already decided to
develop this project through the NEA. The government has already
allocated Rs 100 million to conduct detailed engineering study on the
project in this fiscal year.
________________________________________________
This is International Rivers' mailing list on the role of international financial institutions in promoting large dams.
You received this message as a subscriber on the list: ifi@list.internationalrivers.org
To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Take action on Uganda dam on Nile
I signed it, will you?
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Leslie C., via Avaaz.org <avaaz@avaaz.org>
Date: Wed, Feb 5, 2014 at 6:29 PM
Subject: Thanks for taking action!
Thank you for signing my petition to Government of Uganda: PROTECT THE 'SOURCE OF THE NILE' AND THE COMMUNITIES THAT DEPEND ON IT!
Every single person who joins strengthens our call for action. Send the email below to friends and family, and post this link on your Facebook wall:
Click to share this petition on Facebook
Let's make change together,
Leslie
---
Here's the petition for forwarding to your friends:
Government of Uganda: PROTECT THE 'SOURCE OF THE NILE' AND THE COMMUNITIES THAT DEPEND ON IT
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Government_of_Uganda_PROTECT_THE_SOURCE_OF_THE_NILE_AND_THE_COMMUNITIES_THAT_DEPEND_ON_IT/?tsQwPab
Sent by Avaaz on behalf of Leslie's petition
Avaaz.org is a 33-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people shape global decision-making. ("Avaaz" means "voice" or "song" in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 18 countries on 6 continents and operates in 17 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz's biggest campaigns here, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.
This message was sent to unisajane@gmail.com. To change your email address, language, or other information, click here. Want to leave this list? Click here to unsubscribe.To contact Avaaz, please do not reply to this email. Instead, write to us at www.avaaz.org/en/contact or call us at +1-888-922-8229 (US).
From: Leslie C., via Avaaz.org <avaaz@avaaz.org>
Date: Wed, Feb 5, 2014 at 6:29 PM
Subject: Thanks for taking action!
Thank you for signing my petition to Government of Uganda: PROTECT THE 'SOURCE OF THE NILE' AND THE COMMUNITIES THAT DEPEND ON IT!
Every single person who joins strengthens our call for action. Send the email below to friends and family, and post this link on your Facebook wall:
Click to share this petition on Facebook
Let's make change together,
Leslie
---
Here's the petition for forwarding to your friends:
Government of Uganda: PROTECT THE 'SOURCE OF THE NILE' AND THE COMMUNITIES THAT DEPEND ON IT
We are urging the Ugandan government to downsize the Isimba Dam Hydro Power Project on the Nile in Uganda in order to honour Uganda's international agreements, help Uganda's continued long-term development, and protect the River Nile.
Three levels have been proposed for the height of Isimba Dam. The highest level of the dam, and its associated reservoir will:
• displace over 2000 Ugandans, who are predominantly subsistence farmers.
• deteriorate water quality and increase water-borne diseases for hundreds of thousands of Ugandans living around the project area and downstream, who rely on the Nile for drinking and washing.
• flood a unique, world famous section of whitewater. Year after year the white water attracts people from all over the world and the income associated with these visitors helps to support many thousands of Ugandan's through well-paid jobs in tourism.
• violate a conservation agreement between the Ugandan Government and the World Bank that was put in place to protect this precious section of river that is part of every Ugandan's heritage.
We believe the smaller alternative to be the better balance for Uganda's future. The lowest version of the Isimba Dam will:
• still generate a substantial amount of electrical power to supplement Uganda's requirements and will cost less to build.
• not affect the Conservation Area.
• have negligible effect on a unique and beautiful section of whitewater, that offers so much to Uganda as a tourism resource and can be developed for future generations.
• minimize the negative effects on water quality and human health.
• greatly reduce the number of people who would be displaced and the environmental impact by keeping the reservoir largely inside the river banks.
Please sign and widely promote this petition and help conserve the source of the longest river in the world, as well as the communities that depend on it.
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Government_of_Uganda_PROTECT_THE_SOURCE_OF_THE_NILE_AND_THE_COMMUNITIES_THAT_DEPEND_ON_IT/?tsQwPab
Sent by Avaaz on behalf of Leslie's petition
Avaaz.org is a 33-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people shape global decision-making. ("Avaaz" means "voice" or "song" in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 18 countries on 6 continents and operates in 17 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz's biggest campaigns here, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.
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Wednesday, February 5, 2014
World Bank Indefinitely Postpones Inga 3 Project
[Sorry for cross-posting]
World Bank Indefinitely Postpones Inga 3 Project
International Rivers press release
February 5, 2014
The World Bank has just made a surprise decision to indefinitely
postpone the board discussion of its support for the huge Inga 3 Dam in
the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Bank's board of directors was
scheduled to vote on a $73 million grant to prepare for the project on
February 11. Opposition from local and international NGOs has been
mounting, and civil society groups are now urging the Bank to
fundamentally reconsider the Inga 3 Project.
As proposed, the Inga 3 Dam would generate power for mining companies
and the South African market, not for the more than 90 percent of the
DRC population that has no access to electricity. In a letter to the
World Bank, a coalition of 12 Congolese NGOs asks that the needs of the
local population be prioritized in a comprehensive assessment of the
country's energy needs and options. If the Inga 3 Dam were to go ahead,
they state, at least 50 percent of the power generated by the dam should
serve the energy needs of the population.
Danny Singoma, the Executive Director of the NGO CENADEP, comments: "The
project assumes that the revenues from the power exports will benefit
local people. These kinds of development have never worked in our
country, where there is so much corruption and no accountability to the
citizens by those in power."
The DRC has a large potential of clean local energy sources such as
solar and micro-hydropower. Rudo Sanyanga, the Africa Director for
International Rivers, comments: "Decentralized energy is the only
feasible way of meeting the energy needs of the majority in such a vast
country with limited capacity for maintaining huge infrastructure. It is
time to move quickly to develop these resources, rather than destructive
mega-hydro plants."
In a briefing paper, International Rivers documents how the
Environmental Impact Assessment that would be carried out under the
proposed World Bank grant falls short of good international practice and
the Bank's own guidelines. Most importantly, the Bank has indicated it
is not prepared to assess the cumulative impacts of the 11 dams and 6
hydropower projects that are planned under the Grand Inga scheme. Such
short-sighted approaches to dam cascades have caused the death of
critical ecosystems by a thousand cuts in the past.
Peter Bosshard, the Policy Director of International Rivers, says: "The
proposed Inga 3 Dam fails to reduce energy poverty and protect the
environment in the DRC. The World Bank should use the project's delay to
fundamentally reconsider the value of Inga 3 and prioritize the clean
local energy solutions that are more effective at reducing energy poverty."
The Inga 3 Dam is the first phase of the giant Grand Inga Project on the
Congo River, the largest hydropower scheme ever undertaken on the
planet. Inga 3 is projected to cost $12 billion and have a capacity of
4,800 megawatts if completed. The US budget bill that was passed by
Congress in January instructs US representatives in multilateral
development banks to oppose large hydropower dams such as Inga 3.
Further information:
. Background information on Inga 3: www.internationalrivers.org/node/8211
. Letter from 12 DRC NGOs to the World Bank:
www.internationalrivers.org/node/8221
. International Rivers briefing paper on the environmental flaws of Inga
3: www.internationalrivers.org/node/8222
Media contacts:
. Rudo Sanyanga, Africa Director, International Rivers, Pretoria, (m)
+277 6842 3874
. Peter Bosshard, Policy Director, International Rivers, Berkeley, (o)
+1 510 848 1155 x 320, (m) +1 510 213 1438
. Danny Singoma, Executive Director, CENADEP (Centre National d'Appui au
Développement et à la Participation Populaire), Kinshasa, +243 990 023
637, +243 818 451 405 (preferably in French)
. Taty Maniania, Executive Director, Jeunes Volontaires pour
l’Environnement (JVE-DRC), Kinshasa, +243 814 676 480, +243 991 801
640 (preferably in French)
________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org
To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp
World Bank Indefinitely Postpones Inga 3 Project
International Rivers press release
February 5, 2014
The World Bank has just made a surprise decision to indefinitely
postpone the board discussion of its support for the huge Inga 3 Dam in
the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Bank's board of directors was
scheduled to vote on a $73 million grant to prepare for the project on
February 11. Opposition from local and international NGOs has been
mounting, and civil society groups are now urging the Bank to
fundamentally reconsider the Inga 3 Project.
As proposed, the Inga 3 Dam would generate power for mining companies
and the South African market, not for the more than 90 percent of the
DRC population that has no access to electricity. In a letter to the
World Bank, a coalition of 12 Congolese NGOs asks that the needs of the
local population be prioritized in a comprehensive assessment of the
country's energy needs and options. If the Inga 3 Dam were to go ahead,
they state, at least 50 percent of the power generated by the dam should
serve the energy needs of the population.
Danny Singoma, the Executive Director of the NGO CENADEP, comments: "The
project assumes that the revenues from the power exports will benefit
local people. These kinds of development have never worked in our
country, where there is so much corruption and no accountability to the
citizens by those in power."
The DRC has a large potential of clean local energy sources such as
solar and micro-hydropower. Rudo Sanyanga, the Africa Director for
International Rivers, comments: "Decentralized energy is the only
feasible way of meeting the energy needs of the majority in such a vast
country with limited capacity for maintaining huge infrastructure. It is
time to move quickly to develop these resources, rather than destructive
mega-hydro plants."
In a briefing paper, International Rivers documents how the
Environmental Impact Assessment that would be carried out under the
proposed World Bank grant falls short of good international practice and
the Bank's own guidelines. Most importantly, the Bank has indicated it
is not prepared to assess the cumulative impacts of the 11 dams and 6
hydropower projects that are planned under the Grand Inga scheme. Such
short-sighted approaches to dam cascades have caused the death of
critical ecosystems by a thousand cuts in the past.
Peter Bosshard, the Policy Director of International Rivers, says: "The
proposed Inga 3 Dam fails to reduce energy poverty and protect the
environment in the DRC. The World Bank should use the project's delay to
fundamentally reconsider the value of Inga 3 and prioritize the clean
local energy solutions that are more effective at reducing energy poverty."
The Inga 3 Dam is the first phase of the giant Grand Inga Project on the
Congo River, the largest hydropower scheme ever undertaken on the
planet. Inga 3 is projected to cost $12 billion and have a capacity of
4,800 megawatts if completed. The US budget bill that was passed by
Congress in January instructs US representatives in multilateral
development banks to oppose large hydropower dams such as Inga 3.
Further information:
. Background information on Inga 3: www.internationalrivers.org/node/8211
. Letter from 12 DRC NGOs to the World Bank:
www.internationalrivers.org/node/8221
. International Rivers briefing paper on the environmental flaws of Inga
3: www.internationalrivers.org/node/8222
Media contacts:
. Rudo Sanyanga, Africa Director, International Rivers, Pretoria, (m)
+277 6842 3874
. Peter Bosshard, Policy Director, International Rivers, Berkeley, (o)
+1 510 848 1155 x 320, (m) +1 510 213 1438
. Danny Singoma, Executive Director, CENADEP (Centre National d'Appui au
Développement et à la Participation Populaire), Kinshasa, +243 990 023
637, +243 818 451 405 (preferably in French)
. Taty Maniania, Executive Director, Jeunes Volontaires pour
l’Environnement (JVE-DRC), Kinshasa, +243 814 676 480, +243 991 801
640 (preferably in French)
________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org
To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp
World Bank Indefinitely Postpones Inga 3 Project
[Sorry for cross-posting]
World Bank Indefinitely Postpones Inga 3 Project
International Rivers press release
February 5, 2014
The World Bank has just made a surprise decision to indefinitely
postpone the board discussion of its support for the huge Inga 3 Dam in
the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Bank's board of directors was
scheduled to vote on a $73 million grant to prepare for the project on
February 11. Opposition from local and international NGOs has been
mounting, and civil society groups are now urging the Bank to
fundamentally reconsider the Inga 3 Project.
As proposed, the Inga 3 Dam would generate power for mining companies
and the South African market, not for the more than 90 percent of the
DRC population that has no access to electricity. In a letter to the
World Bank, a coalition of 12 Congolese NGOs asks that the needs of the
local population be prioritized in a comprehensive assessment of the
country's energy needs and options. If the Inga 3 Dam were to go ahead,
they state, at least 50 percent of the power generated by the dam should
serve the energy needs of the population.
Danny Singoma, the Executive Director of the NGO CENADEP, comments: "The
project assumes that the revenues from the power exports will benefit
local people. These kinds of development have never worked in our
country, where there is so much corruption and no accountability to the
citizens by those in power."
The DRC has a large potential of clean local energy sources such as
solar and micro-hydropower. Rudo Sanyanga, the Africa Director for
International Rivers, comments: "Decentralized energy is the only
feasible way of meeting the energy needs of the majority in such a vast
country with limited capacity for maintaining huge infrastructure. It is
time to move quickly to develop these resources, rather than destructive
mega-hydro plants."
In a briefing paper, International Rivers documents how the
Environmental Impact Assessment that would be carried out under the
proposed World Bank grant falls short of good international practice and
the Bank's own guidelines. Most importantly, the Bank has indicated it
is not prepared to assess the cumulative impacts of the 11 dams and 6
hydropower projects that are planned under the Grand Inga scheme. Such
short-sighted approaches to dam cascades have caused the death of
critical ecosystems by a thousand cuts in the past.
Peter Bosshard, the Policy Director of International Rivers, says: "The
proposed Inga 3 Dam fails to reduce energy poverty and protect the
environment in the DRC. The World Bank should use the project's delay to
fundamentally reconsider the value of Inga 3 and prioritize the clean
local energy solutions that are more effective at reducing energy poverty."
The Inga 3 Dam is the first phase of the giant Grand Inga Project on the
Congo River, the largest hydropower scheme ever undertaken on the
planet. Inga 3 is projected to cost $12 billion and have a capacity of
4,800 megawatts if completed. The US budget bill that was passed by
Congress in January instructs US representatives in multilateral
development banks to oppose large hydropower dams such as Inga 3.
Further information:
. Background information on Inga 3: www.internationalrivers.org/node/8211
. Letter from 12 DRC NGOs to the World Bank:
www.internationalrivers.org/node/8221
. International Rivers briefing paper on the environmental flaws of Inga
3: www.internationalrivers.org/node/8222
Media contacts:
. Rudo Sanyanga, Africa Director, International Rivers, Pretoria, (m)
+277 6842 3874
. Peter Bosshard, Policy Director, International Rivers, Berkeley, (o)
+1 510 848 1155 x 320, (m) +1 510 213 1438
. Danny Singoma, Executive Director, CENADEP (Centre National d'Appui au
Développement et à la Participation Populaire), Kinshasa, +243 990 023
637, +243 818 451 405 (preferably in French)
. Taty Maniania, Executive Director, Jeunes Volontaires pour
l’Environnement (JVE-DRC), Kinshasa, +243 814 676 480, +243 991 801
640 (preferably in French)
________________________________________________
This is International Rivers' mailing list on the role of international financial institutions in promoting large dams.
You received this message as a subscriber on the list: ifi@list.internationalrivers.org
To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp
World Bank Indefinitely Postpones Inga 3 Project
International Rivers press release
February 5, 2014
The World Bank has just made a surprise decision to indefinitely
postpone the board discussion of its support for the huge Inga 3 Dam in
the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Bank's board of directors was
scheduled to vote on a $73 million grant to prepare for the project on
February 11. Opposition from local and international NGOs has been
mounting, and civil society groups are now urging the Bank to
fundamentally reconsider the Inga 3 Project.
As proposed, the Inga 3 Dam would generate power for mining companies
and the South African market, not for the more than 90 percent of the
DRC population that has no access to electricity. In a letter to the
World Bank, a coalition of 12 Congolese NGOs asks that the needs of the
local population be prioritized in a comprehensive assessment of the
country's energy needs and options. If the Inga 3 Dam were to go ahead,
they state, at least 50 percent of the power generated by the dam should
serve the energy needs of the population.
Danny Singoma, the Executive Director of the NGO CENADEP, comments: "The
project assumes that the revenues from the power exports will benefit
local people. These kinds of development have never worked in our
country, where there is so much corruption and no accountability to the
citizens by those in power."
The DRC has a large potential of clean local energy sources such as
solar and micro-hydropower. Rudo Sanyanga, the Africa Director for
International Rivers, comments: "Decentralized energy is the only
feasible way of meeting the energy needs of the majority in such a vast
country with limited capacity for maintaining huge infrastructure. It is
time to move quickly to develop these resources, rather than destructive
mega-hydro plants."
In a briefing paper, International Rivers documents how the
Environmental Impact Assessment that would be carried out under the
proposed World Bank grant falls short of good international practice and
the Bank's own guidelines. Most importantly, the Bank has indicated it
is not prepared to assess the cumulative impacts of the 11 dams and 6
hydropower projects that are planned under the Grand Inga scheme. Such
short-sighted approaches to dam cascades have caused the death of
critical ecosystems by a thousand cuts in the past.
Peter Bosshard, the Policy Director of International Rivers, says: "The
proposed Inga 3 Dam fails to reduce energy poverty and protect the
environment in the DRC. The World Bank should use the project's delay to
fundamentally reconsider the value of Inga 3 and prioritize the clean
local energy solutions that are more effective at reducing energy poverty."
The Inga 3 Dam is the first phase of the giant Grand Inga Project on the
Congo River, the largest hydropower scheme ever undertaken on the
planet. Inga 3 is projected to cost $12 billion and have a capacity of
4,800 megawatts if completed. The US budget bill that was passed by
Congress in January instructs US representatives in multilateral
development banks to oppose large hydropower dams such as Inga 3.
Further information:
. Background information on Inga 3: www.internationalrivers.org/node/8211
. Letter from 12 DRC NGOs to the World Bank:
www.internationalrivers.org/node/8221
. International Rivers briefing paper on the environmental flaws of Inga
3: www.internationalrivers.org/node/8222
Media contacts:
. Rudo Sanyanga, Africa Director, International Rivers, Pretoria, (m)
+277 6842 3874
. Peter Bosshard, Policy Director, International Rivers, Berkeley, (o)
+1 510 848 1155 x 320, (m) +1 510 213 1438
. Danny Singoma, Executive Director, CENADEP (Centre National d'Appui au
Développement et à la Participation Populaire), Kinshasa, +243 990 023
637, +243 818 451 405 (preferably in French)
. Taty Maniania, Executive Director, Jeunes Volontaires pour
l’Environnement (JVE-DRC), Kinshasa, +243 814 676 480, +243 991 801
640 (preferably in French)
________________________________________________
This is International Rivers' mailing list on the role of international financial institutions in promoting large dams.
You received this message as a subscriber on the list: ifi@list.internationalrivers.org
To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp
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