The Forgotten Legacy of the Banqiao Dam Collapse
The Economic Observer, 2013-02-08
www.eeo.com.cn/ens/2013/0208/240078.shtml
Summary： In 1975, after a period of rapid dam development, a perfect
storm of factors came together to topple Henan Province's Banqiao Dam
and kill an estimated 171,000 people. Today, on the cusp of another
dam-building binge, some worry that factors which led to Banqiao's
collapse are re-emerging.
By Eric Fish
On the night of Aug 8, 1975, a line of people frantically piled sandbags
atop Henan Province's Banqiao Dam while being battered by the worst
storm ever recorded in the region. They were in a race with the rapidly
rising Ru River to save the dam and the millions of people that lay
sleeping downstream. It was a race they were about to lose.
Just after 1:00 am, the sky cleared and stars emerged from behind the
storm clouds. There was an eerie calm as someone yelled, "The water
level is going down! The flood is retreating!"
There was little chance to enjoy that calm. One survivor recalled that a
few seconds later it "sounded like the sky was collapsing and the earth
was cracking." The equivalent of 280,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools
burst through the crumbling dam, taking with it entire towns and as many
as 171,000 lives.
Today if you ask Chinese outside of Henan what they know about the
Banqiao Dam collapse, you're not likely to hear much. What may have been
the deadliest structural failure of all time occurred in an era when the
state quickly covered the scale of such catastrophes.
In 2005, 30 years after the collapse, historical records began to open
and scholars sought to re-examine the event; yet the majority of Chinese
are still unaware of the disaster's scale and the missteps that led to
it. As China now embarks on another binge of rapid dam development, some
worry that factors which led to Banqiao's collapse are re-emerging.
The dam was completed in 1952 as part of a campaign to "Harness the Huai
River" and its tributaries after severe flooding in previous years.
During the 1950s, over 100 dams and reservoirs were built just in
Zhumadian Prefecture of Henan Province along with Banqiao. When the
Great Leap Forward began in 1958, the campaign was held up as a national
model to "give primacy to water accumulation for irrigation."
A hydrologist named Chen Xing warned that an overbuilding of dams and
reservoirs could raise the water table in Henan beyond safe levels and
lead to disaster. After the Great Leap Forward, many of the projects
were re-examined and renovated, but dams continued to go up quickly.
From the 1950s to the 1970s, about 87,000 reservoirs were built across
the country.
More than 100 additional dams went up in Zhumadian in the 1960s, joining
those that had gone up in the previous decade. They created reservoirs
that claimed huge tracts of land previously reserved for flood
diversion. The irresistible benefits of the dams ultimately drowned out
the voices urging restraint.
Today, China is on the cusp of another dam-building binge.
By 2020, the country intends to increase its total energy capacity by
nearly 50 percent at the same time it tries to raise the non-fossil fuel
proportion of that energy from 9 to 15 percent. With nuclear development
being slowed in the wake of Japan's 2011 Fukushima disaster, dams have
been left to do most of the heavy lifting. The 12th five-year plan calls
for the hydropower producing equivalent of seven Three Gorges Dams to be
built by 2015.
Nowhere is the aggressive dam push raising more eyebrows than in
Southwest China, where dozens of major projects are gearing up. On three
river systems – the Nu (Salween), the Lancang (Mekong), and the Yangtse
watershed – there are altogether 32 major dams completed. But in coming
years those are likely to be joined by over 100 more.
In January, the State Council lifted a ban on major dam projects in the
region that was enacted on environmental concerns under Premier Wen
Jiabao in 2004. The move has been long awaited by dam developers, some
of whom have referred to the last decade as "lost time."
While most worries associated with the planned projects focus on
environmental effects and dislocation of local residents, serious safety
concerns have also been raised. A report by the environmental group
Probe International last year said that of the 130 proposed dams on
these and other rivers in the region, "48.2 percent are located in zones
of high to very high seismic hazard."
The report continues, "By constructing more than 130 large dams in a
region of known high seismicity, China is embarking on a major
experiment with potentially disastrous consequences for its economy and
its citizens"
Earthquakes are only one of the concerns in the mountainous region with
unstable terrain. In 2010, a geographically similar part of Gansu
Province was hit by landslides that killed nearly 1,500 people. A
prolonged drought followed by heavy rains were the official causes of
the disaster, but experts like Sichuan-based geologist Fan Xiao believed
these factors were exacerbated by deforestation, mining and a binge of
dam building that had occurred in the preceding years – issues that also
plague Southwest China's river valleys.
At the time of the landslides, Fan Xiao told South China Morning Post,
"Local authorities have ignored daunting warnings about the severe
consequences of dam-building and viewed dams as their key source of
taxation."
While officials may see dams as a clean and efficient way to boost local
economies, they sometimes also see them as opportunities to line their
own pockets.
In recent years the term "tofu construction" has come into vogue,
referring to structures built with substandard materials and unqualified
contractors as a result of corruption. Since 2007, China has had at
least 19 major bridge collapses resulting in over 140 total deaths. In
one case, a collapsed bridge was found to have been built by a blind
contractor.
While China's high-profile Three Gorges Dam was being built there were
nearly 100 reported instances of corruption, bribery and embezzlement
associated with the project. Most were related to resettlement funds for
displaced residents, but at least 16 cases were directly related to
construction.
Old dams raise even greater worries. Thousands that were built prior to
Reform & Opening Up are still in use, many of which are badly in need of
renovation. The central government has said that more than 40,000 dams
are at risk of breach and allotted 62 billion yuan to repair them. But
that appears to be coming up short and local governments have been
unwilling or unable to make up difference.
"There are so many endangered dams," Zhou Fangping from the Water
Resources Department of Guangdong Province told China Economic Weekly in
2011. "We have so many rivers to manage and so many irrigation and water
conservancy projects. If there's only one project, we can handle it, but
there are so many. So the result is either we promise to complete all
the projects but we don't actually meet the targets, or we finish them
all but with sub-standard quality."
The China Economic Weekly piece reported that about 15,900 new
small-sized dams would be built by the central government by the end of
2013 and 25,000 by local governments before the end of 2015.
As recently as Feb 2 this year, a small dam in Xinjiang collapsed,
flooding 70 homes and killing one man. According to a statement by a
Water Resources Ministry official in 2006, in a given year around 68
(mostly small) dikes like this collapse in China.
***
Soon after the Banqiao Dam was completed in 1952, cracks began to
emerge. So from 1955-56, the structure was reinforced using Soviet
specifications (which the Water Resources Ministry would later admit
were inappropriate for the region). After renovations, Banqiao was
dubbed the "Iron Dam" to reflect its newfound invincibility.
However, on Aug 5, 1975, a typhoon collided with a cold front over Henan
and dropped the area's average yearly rainfall in less than 24 hours.
The 106 cm of rain that fell that day dwarfed the 30 cm daily limit the
dam's designers had anticipated. Witnesses said that the area was
littered with birds that had been pummeled to death by the intense rainfall.
In an effort to mitigate downstream floods that were already severe,
Banqiao was ordered not to fully open its sluice gates early in the
storm. Then communication lines were knocked out, leaving operators
guessing as to how the situation outside was unfolding.
By the time the gates were fully opened, it was too late. Water was
rising faster than it could escape. The hydrologist who had warned that
the region's dam building binge was dangerous had also recommended 12
sluice gates be included on Banqiao. In the end, only five had been
installed, and even those were partially blocked by accumulated silt
when the storm hit.
When the dam collapsed it sent a 50 km/hour tidal wave crashing toward
the valley below that would take out 62 other dams like dominos. In
minutes, entire villages with thousands of people were wiped off the map.
In a 2010 CCTV documentary, one survivor recalled that moment saying, "I
didn't know where I was – just floating around in the water, screams and
cries ringing in my ears. Suddenly, all the voices died down, leaving me
in deadly silence."
During the six hours the Banqiao Reservoir took to empty, an estimated
26,000 people were killed, many of whom were sleeping. The downed
communication lines had thwarted any chance of a large scale evacuation.
Some managed to cling to life by holding onto trees or standing on
rooftops, but many of those who survived the initial onslaught would
soon wish they hadn't.
***
The storm that toppled Banqiao blindsided the dam's designers, who had
only built it to withstand a 1-in-1,000-year flood. For whatever design
flaws the structure had, it might have survived if it weren't for the
1975 flood that was designated a 1-in-2,000 year event.
Today however, such designations are quickly becoming misnomers. What
were once considered freak weather occurrences are transitioning to
routine events. At a 2012 press conference on coping with urban flood
disasters, Wu Zhenghua, a researcher with the Beijing Meteorological
Bureau, warned that climate change will bring more frequent heavy
precipitation to China.
One of the most dangerous implications is that areas already prone to
flooding are likely to see more extreme storm events that local
infrastructure isn't prepared for. These are precisely the areas in
Central and Southwest China that are making major dam pushes.
If the big storm ever does hit, a complete communication breakdown like
the one that hit Banqiao is very unlikely, thanks to improved
technology. But there's still potential for dangerous communication issues.
Katy Yan, China Program Coordinator of International Rivers, an
international conservation group, warns that multiple companies
sometimes operate different dams on the same river. "Lack of
communication and coordination between these companies and between
different water and energy users can often lead to problems, especially
during a major drought period," she says.
But perhaps the greatest danger of a dam break isn't the initial
disaster itself, but the aftermath.
When the Banqiao reservoir had emptied and the waters had settled on the
morning after the collapse, the horror was only beginning. Because dikes
had gone unmaintained for years and flood diversion zones had been
repurposed, the water had nowhere to drain. Roads were washed out and
rescue workers had no way to maneuver. Survivors were left to wait on
rooftops or huddled together on small patches of dry land.
They stripped tree branches of leaves and wrangled floating livestock
carcasses to eat. Food was airdropped, but much fell in the water and
was lost or eaten after it had rotted. Disease spread quickly while
people battled hunger and the summer heat. For every person that had
been swept to their death in the initial tsunami, it's estimated at
least five died from the famine and plague that followed.
The cascade of dams that had been built on the Huai River and its
tributaries to reduce flood risks ultimately made the flooding deadlier
and the rescue effort more difficult. The Probe International report
warns that this development model is being used again today in China's
southwest and it could have equally disastrous consequences.
"If one dam fails, the full force of its ensuing tsunami will be
transmitted to the next dam downstream, and so on, potentially creating
a deadly domino effect of collapsing dams," the report says. "A cascade
of catastrophic dam failures would almost certainly cause an
unprecedented number of casualties and deaths in major downstream
population centers, such as Chengdu, and along these major river valleys."
If such a collapse were to occur today, it could be made more
devastating by the chemical industry that's taken hold along rivers. Li
Zechun from the Chinese Academy of Engineering Sciences was present for
the aftermath of the Banqiao disaster. In 2005, he told People's Daily
that "Once the chemical plants are flooded, the contamination to the
environment is immeasurable."
And while China's relief capability has made huge strides since 1975,
rescuing those affected from a disaster could still be a major problem.
The winding roads on steep mountainsides surrounding rivers in Southwest
China experience routine blockages from landslides; even without serious
rainstorms. After roads were destroyed in the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake,
many who'd survived the initial tremors died from blood loss, shock and
exposure while stranded in the following days. China's total helicopter
fleet – which was barely one-thousandth the size of the U.S.'s – simply
couldn't be everywhere it was needed.
However, Lu Youmei, the former head of China Three Gorges Corporation
who oversaw the Three Gorges Dam project from 1993-2003, says there's
little to worry about in regards to dam safety.
In his Beijing office, the jovial 79-year-old responds to concerns he's
heard many times before. "Every dam is considered and designed carefully
based on hydrology and the most severe flood in history," he said. "And
every dam should be able to bear the highest possible level earthquake."
He explains that the dam sites are carefully studied to ensure they're
not directly on fault lines. He also points out that the Banqiao Dam was
built from clay, whereas new large dams are made with concrete and much
more modern technology.
He adds that changing weather patterns are indeed a concern, but one
that can easily be addressed. "It's a very slow process; maybe 100
years," he said about climate change. "It is possible that some dams
will have no water or too much water in the future. If that happens, we
can reconstruct. This isn't a problem."
As for corruption, Lu says that "tofu construction" isn't an issue with
dam projects either. The corruption cases that were found with the Three
Gorges Dam construction mainly involved overpaying contractors, he says,
and small and medium-sized dams involve private funding now, which
hedges against corruption.
"I don't believe there's no corruption at all," he says. "But overall,
the situation is healthy."
Indeed, few experts have voiced serious concerns that a Banqiao-type
event could occur again in China. The disaster resulted from a perfect
storm of factors that was finally capped by a literal perfect storm
during the height of Mao-era China's overconfidence in its engineering
campaigns.
"Compared with the 1970s, safety measures have certainly improved," said
Peter Bosshard, policy director of International Rivers. "But still,
corners are being cut and the environment has become riskier. The
geography has become riskier with the move upstream and the risks of
climate change are just compounding the natural risks."
But whether the concerns are over safety or the environment, they're
unlikely to further thwart the opportunity that developers have been
waiting nearly a decade for.
"We must proceed," Zhang Jinxuan, director of the Nujiang National
Development and Reform Commission told the EO in 2011. "The resources
here are too good. Not to develop is not an option."
________________________________________________
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Friday, February 8, 2013
Sarawak scales back Borneo dam plans
[For background information about the contentious projects, which are
being built and proposed to be built by Chinese companies, visit
www.internationalrivers.org/campaigns/malaysia]
Sarawak scales back Borneo dam plans
The Malay Mail, Friday, February 08, 2013
www.mmail.com.my/story/sarawak-scales-back-borneo-dam-plans-47114
Location: KUCHING
SARAWAK'S state minister today said the government would not push ahead
with controversial plans to build 12 dams on Borneo island, after
outrage from local tribes and environmentalists.
The proposals sparked fears that the dams would destroy pristine
rainforests, endanger wildlife, and displace natives in Sarawak, a
Malaysian state crossed by powerful rivers with rich jungle habitats.
"It is not a firm plan to build 12 dams. I don't think we will need
that. We will only need four of them," Tan Sri Dato Sri Dr. James
Masing, Sarawak's state minister of land development, told AFP in an
interview.
He said the government was backing off in response to widespread
criticism. Protests over the years have seen activists and locals
staging blockades of roads into dam areas.
"I'm pleased that this type of thing (protests) takes place. Not all
that we do is correct, and this shows we need to refine our plans and
think again," he said.
The government mooted plans for the dams as part of an industrial
development drive to boost the resource-rich state's backward economy.
But the now-complete Bakun mega-dam deep in the interior has been dogged
for years by allegations of corruption in construction contracts, the
flooding of a huge swathe of rainforest and displacement of thousands of
local tribespeople.
Besides Bakun, another dam at Murum is nearing completion and two others
are in the planning stages.
The four dams - at Bakun, Murum, Baleh and Baram - are already expected
to put out nearly 6,000 megawatts of power, six times what Sarawak
currently uses, Masing said.
"The protests are becoming more vocal on the ground so (the dam rethink)
is a very good development for me," said Peter Kallang, member of a
Sarawak tribe and chairman of SAVE Rivers, an NGO that has campaigned
against the dams.
However, he said plans for the Baram and Baleh dams should be scrapped
as well, noting that the Baram dam would displace about 20,000 people,
compared to about 10,000 at Bakun, and destroy irreplaceable forest.
He said SAVE Rivers last month organised a floating protest along the
Baram river that cruised down river for three days and was met with
support along the way by local tribespeople.
The Swiss-based jungle-protection group Bruno Manser Fund says about 90
per cent of Sarawak's rainforests have been damaged as the state
government has opened up virgin forest to loggers and palm-oil plantations.
Critics also allege chief minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, who has
ruled Sarawak since 1981, has enriched himself and his family through
corrupt timber and other dealings, and have called the dams white elephants.
He has dismissed the corruption allegations.
His critics accuse the federal government of failing to act against him
because his tight control of Sarawak has kept it a vital ruling
coalition stronghold. -AFP
________________________________________________
This is International Rivers' mailing list on China's global footprint, and particularly Chinese investment in
international dam projects.
You received this message as a subscriber on the list: chinaglobal@list.internationalrivers.org
To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp
being built and proposed to be built by Chinese companies, visit
www.internationalrivers.org/campaigns/malaysia]
Sarawak scales back Borneo dam plans
The Malay Mail, Friday, February 08, 2013
www.mmail.com.my/story/sarawak-scales-back-borneo-dam-plans-47114
Location: KUCHING
SARAWAK'S state minister today said the government would not push ahead
with controversial plans to build 12 dams on Borneo island, after
outrage from local tribes and environmentalists.
The proposals sparked fears that the dams would destroy pristine
rainforests, endanger wildlife, and displace natives in Sarawak, a
Malaysian state crossed by powerful rivers with rich jungle habitats.
"It is not a firm plan to build 12 dams. I don't think we will need
that. We will only need four of them," Tan Sri Dato Sri Dr. James
Masing, Sarawak's state minister of land development, told AFP in an
interview.
He said the government was backing off in response to widespread
criticism. Protests over the years have seen activists and locals
staging blockades of roads into dam areas.
"I'm pleased that this type of thing (protests) takes place. Not all
that we do is correct, and this shows we need to refine our plans and
think again," he said.
The government mooted plans for the dams as part of an industrial
development drive to boost the resource-rich state's backward economy.
But the now-complete Bakun mega-dam deep in the interior has been dogged
for years by allegations of corruption in construction contracts, the
flooding of a huge swathe of rainforest and displacement of thousands of
local tribespeople.
Besides Bakun, another dam at Murum is nearing completion and two others
are in the planning stages.
The four dams - at Bakun, Murum, Baleh and Baram - are already expected
to put out nearly 6,000 megawatts of power, six times what Sarawak
currently uses, Masing said.
"The protests are becoming more vocal on the ground so (the dam rethink)
is a very good development for me," said Peter Kallang, member of a
Sarawak tribe and chairman of SAVE Rivers, an NGO that has campaigned
against the dams.
However, he said plans for the Baram and Baleh dams should be scrapped
as well, noting that the Baram dam would displace about 20,000 people,
compared to about 10,000 at Bakun, and destroy irreplaceable forest.
He said SAVE Rivers last month organised a floating protest along the
Baram river that cruised down river for three days and was met with
support along the way by local tribespeople.
The Swiss-based jungle-protection group Bruno Manser Fund says about 90
per cent of Sarawak's rainforests have been damaged as the state
government has opened up virgin forest to loggers and palm-oil plantations.
Critics also allege chief minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, who has
ruled Sarawak since 1981, has enriched himself and his family through
corrupt timber and other dealings, and have called the dams white elephants.
He has dismissed the corruption allegations.
His critics accuse the federal government of failing to act against him
because his tight control of Sarawak has kept it a vital ruling
coalition stronghold. -AFP
________________________________________________
This is International Rivers' mailing list on China's global footprint, and particularly Chinese investment in
international dam projects.
You received this message as a subscriber on the list: chinaglobal@list.internationalrivers.org
To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp
Sarawak scales back Borneo dam plans
[For background information about the proposed projects, visit
www.internationalrivers.org/campaigns/malaysia]
Sarawak scales back Borneo dam plans
The Malay Mail, Friday, February 08, 2013
www.mmail.com.my/story/sarawak-scales-back-borneo-dam-plans-47114
Location: KUCHING
SARAWAK'S state minister today said the government would not push ahead
with controversial plans to build 12 dams on Borneo island, after
outrage from local tribes and environmentalists.
The proposals sparked fears that the dams would destroy pristine
rainforests, endanger wildlife, and displace natives in Sarawak, a
Malaysian state crossed by powerful rivers with rich jungle habitats.
"It is not a firm plan to build 12 dams. I don't think we will need
that. We will only need four of them," Tan Sri Dato Sri Dr. James
Masing, Sarawak's state minister of land development, told AFP in an
interview.
He said the government was backing off in response to widespread
criticism. Protests over the years have seen activists and locals
staging blockades of roads into dam areas.
"I'm pleased that this type of thing (protests) takes place. Not all
that we do is correct, and this shows we need to refine our plans and
think again," he said.
The government mooted plans for the dams as part of an industrial
development drive to boost the resource-rich state's backward economy.
But the now-complete Bakun mega-dam deep in the interior has been dogged
for years by allegations of corruption in construction contracts, the
flooding of a huge swathe of rainforest and displacement of thousands of
local tribespeople.
Besides Bakun, another dam at Murum is nearing completion and two others
are in the planning stages.
The four dams - at Bakun, Murum, Baleh and Baram - are already expected
to put out nearly 6,000 megawatts of power, six times what Sarawak
currently uses, Masing said.
"The protests are becoming more vocal on the ground so (the dam rethink)
is a very good development for me," said Peter Kallang, member of a
Sarawak tribe and chairman of SAVE Rivers, an NGO that has campaigned
against the dams.
However, he said plans for the Baram and Baleh dams should be scrapped
as well, noting that the Baram dam would displace about 20,000 people,
compared to about 10,000 at Bakun, and destroy irreplaceable forest.
He said SAVE Rivers last month organised a floating protest along the
Baram river that cruised down river for three days and was met with
support along the way by local tribespeople.
The Swiss-based jungle-protection group Bruno Manser Fund says about 90
per cent of Sarawak's rainforests have been damaged as the state
government has opened up virgin forest to loggers and palm-oil plantations.
Critics also allege chief minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, who has
ruled Sarawak since 1981, has enriched himself and his family through
corrupt timber and other dealings, and have called the dams white elephants.
He has dismissed the corruption allegations.
His critics accuse the federal government of failing to act against him
because his tight control of Sarawak has kept it a vital ruling
coalition stronghold. -AFP
________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list: dams@list.internationalrivers.org
To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp
www.internationalrivers.org/campaigns/malaysia]
Sarawak scales back Borneo dam plans
The Malay Mail, Friday, February 08, 2013
www.mmail.com.my/story/sarawak-scales-back-borneo-dam-plans-47114
Location: KUCHING
SARAWAK'S state minister today said the government would not push ahead
with controversial plans to build 12 dams on Borneo island, after
outrage from local tribes and environmentalists.
The proposals sparked fears that the dams would destroy pristine
rainforests, endanger wildlife, and displace natives in Sarawak, a
Malaysian state crossed by powerful rivers with rich jungle habitats.
"It is not a firm plan to build 12 dams. I don't think we will need
that. We will only need four of them," Tan Sri Dato Sri Dr. James
Masing, Sarawak's state minister of land development, told AFP in an
interview.
He said the government was backing off in response to widespread
criticism. Protests over the years have seen activists and locals
staging blockades of roads into dam areas.
"I'm pleased that this type of thing (protests) takes place. Not all
that we do is correct, and this shows we need to refine our plans and
think again," he said.
The government mooted plans for the dams as part of an industrial
development drive to boost the resource-rich state's backward economy.
But the now-complete Bakun mega-dam deep in the interior has been dogged
for years by allegations of corruption in construction contracts, the
flooding of a huge swathe of rainforest and displacement of thousands of
local tribespeople.
Besides Bakun, another dam at Murum is nearing completion and two others
are in the planning stages.
The four dams - at Bakun, Murum, Baleh and Baram - are already expected
to put out nearly 6,000 megawatts of power, six times what Sarawak
currently uses, Masing said.
"The protests are becoming more vocal on the ground so (the dam rethink)
is a very good development for me," said Peter Kallang, member of a
Sarawak tribe and chairman of SAVE Rivers, an NGO that has campaigned
against the dams.
However, he said plans for the Baram and Baleh dams should be scrapped
as well, noting that the Baram dam would displace about 20,000 people,
compared to about 10,000 at Bakun, and destroy irreplaceable forest.
He said SAVE Rivers last month organised a floating protest along the
Baram river that cruised down river for three days and was met with
support along the way by local tribespeople.
The Swiss-based jungle-protection group Bruno Manser Fund says about 90
per cent of Sarawak's rainforests have been damaged as the state
government has opened up virgin forest to loggers and palm-oil plantations.
Critics also allege chief minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, who has
ruled Sarawak since 1981, has enriched himself and his family through
corrupt timber and other dealings, and have called the dams white elephants.
He has dismissed the corruption allegations.
His critics accuse the federal government of failing to act against him
because his tight control of Sarawak has kept it a vital ruling
coalition stronghold. -AFP
________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list: dams@list.internationalrivers.org
To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Egypt & Sudan outraged by Ethiopia's Blue Nile Dam
http://www.hydroworld.com/news/2013/02/05/hydro-power-egypt-sudan-outraged-by-ethiopia-s-blue-nile-dam-by-thomas-land.html
Egypt & Sudan outraged by Ethiopia's Blue Nile Dam
-By Thomas Land
Egypt and Sudan are outraged by a new hydro-electric dam construction
project on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia that threatens to endanger
agricultural productivity across huge swathes of Arab land. The
6,000MW dam, 40km from the Sudanese border, designed to alleviate
regional energy shortages and to produce power for export, is
scheduled for completion in 2015.
But it may also damage the fragile environment of Sudan and Egypt down
river. The Blue and the White Niles, both originating in Africa, are
the principal tributaries of the river on which both Egypt and Sudan
depend for survival. There have been reports, played down by officials
but treated very seriously by the Ethiopian press, of contingency
plans prepared by Egypt to deploy air strikes delivered across Sudan
airspace to wreck the $4.8bn hydro-power project.
This is one instance of many frictions spreading between thirsty
neighbours across the Middle East, fed by disastrous, mounting water
shortages challenging economic development and threatening to engulf
the region in conflict. The issues involve desertification,
investment, agricultural productivity and intergovernment relations.
The construction of Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam (GRD) is now
under way by the Italian concern Salini Costruttori, working in
collaboration with Metal & Engineering Corporation, a local
electromechanical enterprise.
Alemayehu Tegenu, the Ethiopian minister of water and energy, recently
received his Egyptian and Sudanese counterparts in Addis Ababa to sign
a diplomatic accord in search of technical cooperation in the
management of shared natural resources.
Egypt's contingency plans for the alleged physical destruction of the
dam under construction at a later, advanced stage were disclosed by
Wikileaks. The immediate relevance of the embarrassing revelations has
been unconvincingly dismissed by Magdy Amr, the Egyptian assistant
foreign minister responsible for Nile basin affairs, on the grounds
that the plans had been formulated in 2010, preceding the public
announcement of the construction.
Abdelrahman Sirelkhatim, the Sudanese ambassador to Ethiopia, has also
emphatically denied propositions that his country was engaged in any
military conspiracy with Egypt for the destruction of the GRD project.
Both countries are nevertheless deeply concerned with
the prospect of a substantial reduction of their principal fresh water
supply. Both depend on the Nile for water as well as its reliable
annual yield of nutrient-rich sediments producing food crops essential
for the survival of their rapidly growing populations.
The GRD hydro-power scheme, the biggest in Africa, will change the
vital water balance of both countries. Its giant turbines capable of
generating electricity at twice the volume produced by Egypt's Aswan
High Dam, will be fed a by a massive reservoir containing 63bn cubic
metres of water. The lake will take several years to fill. And it may
well substantially reduce the flow of the river permanently afterwards.
Haydar Yousif, a noted Sudanese hydrologist and an authority on water
management issues of the Nile, estimates the GDR's reservoir "will
hold back nearly one and a half times the average annual flow of the
river. Filling the reservoir, which could take up to five years, would
drastically affect agriculture, electricity and water supply
downstream. Evaporative losses from the dam's reservoir could be as
much as 3bn cubic metres a year."
The dam will also retain silt. The Ethiopian government argues that
this will be a net positive effect of the construction as it would
increase the lifetime of other dams downstream. Indeed, Sudan has just
increased the height of its heavily sedimented Roseires Dam on the
Blue Nile near the Ethiopian border in a $441.5m investment programme
financed by Gulf donors to boost irrigation as well as hydro-power
production. Discussion papers published at a recent Sudan symposium
added that the GRD project would assist in the regulation of water
supplies downstream for irrigated agriculture and provide assured
electricity supplies for the entire region. Nevertheless, tension
between Ethiopia and its Arab neighbours have periodically flared
since the 1970s when the GRD scheme was first publicly discussed.
Egypt and Sudan have both vigorously lobbied against the project.
To calm their concerns, Ethiopia has recently agreed to the
establishment of an intergovernmental expert committee including
several independent specialists to review the likely environmental
effects of the dam downstream. The experts are to report shortly. But
an Ethiopian foreign affairs spokesman has already declared his
country's resolve to stick to its existing plans in the face of "any
external pressures."
Ethiopia is the home of a dozen great river basins with a combined
hydro-power potential estimated in excess of 45,000MW, but its
industrial development is encumbered by persistent electricity
blackouts.
Its current five-year national Growth and Transformation Plan for the
period ending in 2015 envisages the quadrupling of hydro-power
generating capacity from 2,179MW now, eventually to supply much of the
Middle East, Africa and markets as far as Europe. The construction of
high-capacity power transmission links to Sudan and Djibouti has begun.
The only treaty on sharing the waters of the river once honoured by
all the affected countries was based on a colonial era deal set out by
Britain in 1929. But it was replaced in 2010 by a new instrument
adopted by the five upstream African countries led by Ethiopia - and
rejected by Egypt and Sudan.
The Middle East is plagued by potentially perilous conflicts over the
sharing and management of precious natural resources including the
waters of the Nile, the Jordan and the Euphrates as well as Iraq's
disastrously shrinking marshlands. Nouri Al Maliki, the Iraqi prime
minister, warned a recent Baghdad conference that, to avert disaster,
the Arab World must unite in the search for goodwill and trust between
hostile neighbours in a collective endeavour to meet the looming
shortages.
Humanity's collective demand for water is expected to outstrip
supplies by some 40% within a decade and as half, according to
American intelligence estimates, threatening massive conflicts. A
United Nations study endorsed by 40 retired world leaders reckons
that, by the year 2025, essential agricultural productivity alone will
demand an additional global supply of 1,000 cubic km of fresh water a
year, 20 times the equivalent of the annual flow of the Nile. N
The GRD hydro-power scheme, the biggest in Africa, will change the
vital water balance of both countries. Ethiopia is the home of a dozen
great river basins with a combined hydro-power potential in exces of
45,000MW
Copyright 2013 IC Publications
Provided by Syndigate.info, an Albawaba.com company
All Rights Reserved
________________________________________________
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
Egypt & Sudan outraged by Ethiopia's Blue Nile Dam
-By Thomas Land
Egypt and Sudan are outraged by a new hydro-electric dam construction
project on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia that threatens to endanger
agricultural productivity across huge swathes of Arab land. The
6,000MW dam, 40km from the Sudanese border, designed to alleviate
regional energy shortages and to produce power for export, is
scheduled for completion in 2015.
But it may also damage the fragile environment of Sudan and Egypt down
river. The Blue and the White Niles, both originating in Africa, are
the principal tributaries of the river on which both Egypt and Sudan
depend for survival. There have been reports, played down by officials
but treated very seriously by the Ethiopian press, of contingency
plans prepared by Egypt to deploy air strikes delivered across Sudan
airspace to wreck the $4.8bn hydro-power project.
This is one instance of many frictions spreading between thirsty
neighbours across the Middle East, fed by disastrous, mounting water
shortages challenging economic development and threatening to engulf
the region in conflict. The issues involve desertification,
investment, agricultural productivity and intergovernment relations.
The construction of Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam (GRD) is now
under way by the Italian concern Salini Costruttori, working in
collaboration with Metal & Engineering Corporation, a local
electromechanical enterprise.
Alemayehu Tegenu, the Ethiopian minister of water and energy, recently
received his Egyptian and Sudanese counterparts in Addis Ababa to sign
a diplomatic accord in search of technical cooperation in the
management of shared natural resources.
Egypt's contingency plans for the alleged physical destruction of the
dam under construction at a later, advanced stage were disclosed by
Wikileaks. The immediate relevance of the embarrassing revelations has
been unconvincingly dismissed by Magdy Amr, the Egyptian assistant
foreign minister responsible for Nile basin affairs, on the grounds
that the plans had been formulated in 2010, preceding the public
announcement of the construction.
Abdelrahman Sirelkhatim, the Sudanese ambassador to Ethiopia, has also
emphatically denied propositions that his country was engaged in any
military conspiracy with Egypt for the destruction of the GRD project.
Both countries are nevertheless deeply concerned with
the prospect of a substantial reduction of their principal fresh water
supply. Both depend on the Nile for water as well as its reliable
annual yield of nutrient-rich sediments producing food crops essential
for the survival of their rapidly growing populations.
The GRD hydro-power scheme, the biggest in Africa, will change the
vital water balance of both countries. Its giant turbines capable of
generating electricity at twice the volume produced by Egypt's Aswan
High Dam, will be fed a by a massive reservoir containing 63bn cubic
metres of water. The lake will take several years to fill. And it may
well substantially reduce the flow of the river permanently afterwards.
Haydar Yousif, a noted Sudanese hydrologist and an authority on water
management issues of the Nile, estimates the GDR's reservoir "will
hold back nearly one and a half times the average annual flow of the
river. Filling the reservoir, which could take up to five years, would
drastically affect agriculture, electricity and water supply
downstream. Evaporative losses from the dam's reservoir could be as
much as 3bn cubic metres a year."
The dam will also retain silt. The Ethiopian government argues that
this will be a net positive effect of the construction as it would
increase the lifetime of other dams downstream. Indeed, Sudan has just
increased the height of its heavily sedimented Roseires Dam on the
Blue Nile near the Ethiopian border in a $441.5m investment programme
financed by Gulf donors to boost irrigation as well as hydro-power
production. Discussion papers published at a recent Sudan symposium
added that the GRD project would assist in the regulation of water
supplies downstream for irrigated agriculture and provide assured
electricity supplies for the entire region. Nevertheless, tension
between Ethiopia and its Arab neighbours have periodically flared
since the 1970s when the GRD scheme was first publicly discussed.
Egypt and Sudan have both vigorously lobbied against the project.
To calm their concerns, Ethiopia has recently agreed to the
establishment of an intergovernmental expert committee including
several independent specialists to review the likely environmental
effects of the dam downstream. The experts are to report shortly. But
an Ethiopian foreign affairs spokesman has already declared his
country's resolve to stick to its existing plans in the face of "any
external pressures."
Ethiopia is the home of a dozen great river basins with a combined
hydro-power potential estimated in excess of 45,000MW, but its
industrial development is encumbered by persistent electricity
blackouts.
Its current five-year national Growth and Transformation Plan for the
period ending in 2015 envisages the quadrupling of hydro-power
generating capacity from 2,179MW now, eventually to supply much of the
Middle East, Africa and markets as far as Europe. The construction of
high-capacity power transmission links to Sudan and Djibouti has begun.
The only treaty on sharing the waters of the river once honoured by
all the affected countries was based on a colonial era deal set out by
Britain in 1929. But it was replaced in 2010 by a new instrument
adopted by the five upstream African countries led by Ethiopia - and
rejected by Egypt and Sudan.
The Middle East is plagued by potentially perilous conflicts over the
sharing and management of precious natural resources including the
waters of the Nile, the Jordan and the Euphrates as well as Iraq's
disastrously shrinking marshlands. Nouri Al Maliki, the Iraqi prime
minister, warned a recent Baghdad conference that, to avert disaster,
the Arab World must unite in the search for goodwill and trust between
hostile neighbours in a collective endeavour to meet the looming
shortages.
Humanity's collective demand for water is expected to outstrip
supplies by some 40% within a decade and as half, according to
American intelligence estimates, threatening massive conflicts. A
United Nations study endorsed by 40 retired world leaders reckons
that, by the year 2025, essential agricultural productivity alone will
demand an additional global supply of 1,000 cubic km of fresh water a
year, 20 times the equivalent of the annual flow of the Nile. N
The GRD hydro-power scheme, the biggest in Africa, will change the
vital water balance of both countries. Ethiopia is the home of a dozen
great river basins with a combined hydro-power potential in exces of
45,000MW
Copyright 2013 IC Publications
Provided by Syndigate.info, an Albawaba.com company
All Rights Reserved
________________________________________________
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
Africa Program Research Fellow – 2013 – Pretoria
Dear all,
We are seeking a part-time Research Fellow for 20 hours per week for 8 months, based in Pretoria, South Africa.� Please share this with anyone you think may be interested. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Intern & Volunteer Coordinator
International Rivers
*******
Africa Program Research Fellow � 2013 � Pretoria
http://www.internationalrivers.org/node/7818
International Rivers supports communities around the world in protecting their rivers, watersheds and human rights. We work to halt destructive dams and encourage better methods of meeting needs for water, energy and protection from floods.
International Rivers is recruiting a researcher for an eight-month Fellowship to work in our Pretoria office for 20 hours a week. The purpose of the Fellowship is to conduct research on dam developments on the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and assist in developing links with organizations and individuals working on renewable energy and relevant campaigns in the Southern Africa region. The Fellowship will provide research-training experience, new knowledge and skills to the successful applicant, while helping International Rivers develop our programs and base in South Africa. The Research Fellow will work under the supervision of the Africa Program Director.
The Research Fellow's primary responsibilities include:
The fellowship will pay ZAR 6000.00 a month for 20 hours a week for 8 months. This is not a full-time position and therefore does not include benefits.
Application Procedures
Please send an application letter in English with resume and writing sample to jobpostreg@internationalrivers.org with the subject "Africa Program Research Fellow." The position will remain open until filled.
We are seeking a part-time Research Fellow for 20 hours per week for 8 months, based in Pretoria, South Africa.� Please share this with anyone you think may be interested. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Intern & Volunteer Coordinator
International Rivers
*******
Africa Program Research Fellow � 2013 � Pretoria
http://www.internationalrivers.org/node/7818
International Rivers supports communities around the world in protecting their rivers, watersheds and human rights. We work to halt destructive dams and encourage better methods of meeting needs for water, energy and protection from floods.
International Rivers is recruiting a researcher for an eight-month Fellowship to work in our Pretoria office for 20 hours a week. The purpose of the Fellowship is to conduct research on dam developments on the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and assist in developing links with organizations and individuals working on renewable energy and relevant campaigns in the Southern Africa region. The Fellowship will provide research-training experience, new knowledge and skills to the successful applicant, while helping International Rivers develop our programs and base in South Africa. The Research Fellow will work under the supervision of the Africa Program Director.
The Research Fellow's primary responsibilities include:
- Support the Africa team�s activities on the Inga Dams in the DRC, including research, contribution to reports, outreach to partners, and review of documents.
- Continue our outreach efforts to Southern African groups working on Inga dams and energy issues.
- Investigate the feasibility of working with South African civil society groups to initiate a campaign focused on discouraging ESKOM from investing in destructive hydropower projects outside of South Africa and instead, encouraging ESKOM to invest in domestic renewable energy resources.
- At least one year research experience in a relevant discipline.
- Ability to work both independently and with a team.
- Excellent written and spoken English skills.
- Excellent computer skills, including Word, Excel, and web savvy.
- Possession or in pursuit of a Master�s degree in environmental sciences, water resources management, geography, environmental economics, energy planning or any other relevant discipline.
- French language skills are an added advantage.
The fellowship will pay ZAR 6000.00 a month for 20 hours a week for 8 months. This is not a full-time position and therefore does not include benefits.
Application Procedures
Please send an application letter in English with resume and writing sample to jobpostreg@internationalrivers.org with the subject "Africa Program Research Fellow." The position will remain open until filled.
AfDB working to expand geothermal in E. Africa
Apologies for the inadvertent mailing of a plea for money--mistakenly
sent to the list, please disregard.
And now for some real news...
http://www.afriquejet.com/201302061332/East-Africa-AfDB-to-boost-Geothermal-development.html
East Africa: AfDB to boost Geothermal development
Geothermal development - Building on its Kenyan experience in the East
African Rift Valley with the Menengai geothermal project, the African
Development Bank (AfDB) says it is working on an ambitious geothermal
development programme for Africa.
Apart from the gigantic projects such as the 400-MW geothermal
development project under implementation in Menengai, Kenya, the AfDB
is also working on a series of small-scale geothermal units, adapted
to the specific context of each country of the East African Rift
Valley having geothermal potential.
In a press statement here Wednesday, received by PANA, the AfDB said
it is currently working with the government of Djibouti on the
development of a 50-MW power plant in the Lac Assal region.
In Ethiopia, the AfDB has played a leading role in defining a
geothermal development roadmap and in Tanzania, the AfDB is leading
the development of the scaling-up renewable energy programme of the
Climate Investment Funds, which will include the financing of a
geothermal development project.
In the Comoros, the AfDB has started the identification process for a
20-MW geothermal plant, matching the needs of the archipelago,
according to the press statement.
Tonia Kandiero, the AfDB Resident Representative in Tanzania, had
said, during the fourth African Rift Geothermal Conference in November
2012 in Nairobi, that �Our ambition is to support the accelerated
development of the large untapped geothermal resource potential in the
Eastern Africa region.
'Geothermal development has been relatively limited in this region in
the past. Only about 217 MW of geothermal energy has been developed so
far, most of it being in Kenya. This is insignificant compared to the
region�s huge potential, estimated at 10,000 MW in Kenya alone.�
According to Youssef Arfaoui, the Chief Renewable Energy Expert, �The
African Development Bank is now pushing the geothermal agenda with
innovative models that help overcome the several risks associated with
geothermal development, among which the most important one is the
exploratory drilling risk, which is related to the probability of
hitting dry wells during the exploration and appraisal drilling phase.
The mitigation of the risks will also make off-taker and consumer
tariffs affordable.�
He said that a new model had emerged to fast-track the development of
geothermal resources in the East African Rift Valley.
This model entails the financing of the early stage and high-risk
activities mainly related to drilling by development finance
institutions such as the African Development Bank using concessional
financing.
The financing goes to a special purpose company in charge of
undertaking the drilling activities and hence taking most of the
drilling risk, which in turn paves the way for private investors to
step in and convert the steam into power by channeling high pressure
steam sources deep underground to operate power generation turbines.
�An eloquent illustration of this new model is the Menengai geothermal
development project in Kenya, which the African Development Bank has
recently supported with approximately US$ 150 million highly
concessional financing from its own resources blended with climate
investment funds,� explains Thierno Bah, the AfDB Senior Power Engineer.
The Menengai Project is the first ever project to be approved under
the Scaling-up Renewable Energy Programme for low-income countries of
the Climate Investment Funds.
The Menengai project, once completed, will have tremendous development
impact for the Kenyan people by increasing the energy supply in the
country by an amount equivalent to the current consumption needs of
500,000 Kenyan households, 300,000 small businesses and some 1,000 GWh
for other businesses and industries.
The project will also displace around two million tons of CO� per
annum, thereby significantly contributing to the fight against climate
change.
Building on the success met in Kenya with the Menengai project, the
AfDB is focusing on developing the geothermal potential in Tanzania,
as Tanzania has been identified as the next country having an
important geothermal potential, with the appropriate institutional
framework and being ready with concrete geothermal sites already
identified.
It will use and try to replicate as much as possible in Tanzania the
model developed in Kenya: financing by development finance
institutions using concessional financing for the early stage and high-
risk activities mainly related to drilling activities to be undertaken
by a special purpose company like the Kenyan Geothermal Development
Company (GDC).
The 2012 African Rift Geothermal Conference, which is the most
important African geothermal conference, held in November 2012 in
Nairobi, attended by more than 630 delegates and 25 exhibitors,
enabled the AfDB to flaunt its strong involvement in geothermal energy
development.
It also helped spread awareness of AfDB�s role as Africa�s premier
development finance institution in the geothermal energy sector in
East Africa.
Pana 06/02/2013
________________________________________________
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
sent to the list, please disregard.
And now for some real news...
http://www.afriquejet.com/201302061332/East-Africa-AfDB-to-boost-Geothermal-development.html
East Africa: AfDB to boost Geothermal development
Geothermal development - Building on its Kenyan experience in the East
African Rift Valley with the Menengai geothermal project, the African
Development Bank (AfDB) says it is working on an ambitious geothermal
development programme for Africa.
Apart from the gigantic projects such as the 400-MW geothermal
development project under implementation in Menengai, Kenya, the AfDB
is also working on a series of small-scale geothermal units, adapted
to the specific context of each country of the East African Rift
Valley having geothermal potential.
In a press statement here Wednesday, received by PANA, the AfDB said
it is currently working with the government of Djibouti on the
development of a 50-MW power plant in the Lac Assal region.
In Ethiopia, the AfDB has played a leading role in defining a
geothermal development roadmap and in Tanzania, the AfDB is leading
the development of the scaling-up renewable energy programme of the
Climate Investment Funds, which will include the financing of a
geothermal development project.
In the Comoros, the AfDB has started the identification process for a
20-MW geothermal plant, matching the needs of the archipelago,
according to the press statement.
Tonia Kandiero, the AfDB Resident Representative in Tanzania, had
said, during the fourth African Rift Geothermal Conference in November
2012 in Nairobi, that �Our ambition is to support the accelerated
development of the large untapped geothermal resource potential in the
Eastern Africa region.
'Geothermal development has been relatively limited in this region in
the past. Only about 217 MW of geothermal energy has been developed so
far, most of it being in Kenya. This is insignificant compared to the
region�s huge potential, estimated at 10,000 MW in Kenya alone.�
According to Youssef Arfaoui, the Chief Renewable Energy Expert, �The
African Development Bank is now pushing the geothermal agenda with
innovative models that help overcome the several risks associated with
geothermal development, among which the most important one is the
exploratory drilling risk, which is related to the probability of
hitting dry wells during the exploration and appraisal drilling phase.
The mitigation of the risks will also make off-taker and consumer
tariffs affordable.�
He said that a new model had emerged to fast-track the development of
geothermal resources in the East African Rift Valley.
This model entails the financing of the early stage and high-risk
activities mainly related to drilling by development finance
institutions such as the African Development Bank using concessional
financing.
The financing goes to a special purpose company in charge of
undertaking the drilling activities and hence taking most of the
drilling risk, which in turn paves the way for private investors to
step in and convert the steam into power by channeling high pressure
steam sources deep underground to operate power generation turbines.
�An eloquent illustration of this new model is the Menengai geothermal
development project in Kenya, which the African Development Bank has
recently supported with approximately US$ 150 million highly
concessional financing from its own resources blended with climate
investment funds,� explains Thierno Bah, the AfDB Senior Power Engineer.
The Menengai Project is the first ever project to be approved under
the Scaling-up Renewable Energy Programme for low-income countries of
the Climate Investment Funds.
The Menengai project, once completed, will have tremendous development
impact for the Kenyan people by increasing the energy supply in the
country by an amount equivalent to the current consumption needs of
500,000 Kenyan households, 300,000 small businesses and some 1,000 GWh
for other businesses and industries.
The project will also displace around two million tons of CO� per
annum, thereby significantly contributing to the fight against climate
change.
Building on the success met in Kenya with the Menengai project, the
AfDB is focusing on developing the geothermal potential in Tanzania,
as Tanzania has been identified as the next country having an
important geothermal potential, with the appropriate institutional
framework and being ready with concrete geothermal sites already
identified.
It will use and try to replicate as much as possible in Tanzania the
model developed in Kenya: financing by development finance
institutions using concessional financing for the early stage and high-
risk activities mainly related to drilling activities to be undertaken
by a special purpose company like the Kenyan Geothermal Development
Company (GDC).
The 2012 African Rift Geothermal Conference, which is the most
important African geothermal conference, held in November 2012 in
Nairobi, attended by more than 630 delegates and 25 exhibitors,
enabled the AfDB to flaunt its strong involvement in geothermal energy
development.
It also helped spread awareness of AfDB�s role as Africa�s premier
development finance institution in the geothermal energy sector in
East Africa.
Pana 06/02/2013
________________________________________________
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
Uganda awards Karuma hydropower deal to Chinese firm
Government awards Karuma deal to Chinese firm
By NELSON WESONGA & DEAR JEANNE
The Monitor (Uganda), Sunday, January 27 2013
China International Water & Electric Corporation (CWE) has been awarded
the deal to construct the multi-billion Karuma Hydropower Dam.
This follows two years of protracted legal battles that witnessed
several cancellations, injunctions, investigations and a repeat of the
technical evaluation processes.
The bid was opened on Friday at the Ministry of Energy boardroom in
Kampala. Available information indicates that CWE offered $1.4 billion
(Shs3.4 trillion) for engineering, procurement and construction of the
600MW dam.
Perlite Construction Company Ltd is the other company that had made it
to the final stage. The total project cost is estimated at $2.2 billion
(Shs5.9 trillion).
Eng. Paul Mubiru, the acting permanent secretary, said the project,
rocked by claims of irregularity in the tendering process, is two years
behind schedule.
And even the final stage was not without controversy as Sunday Monitor
learnt that the Inspectorate of Government (IGG) had directed that the
process be halted.
The IGG on Friday wrote to the permanent secretary, citing allegations
that some officials in the ministry had been compromised by one of the
six bidding firms.
The IGG wrote: "It is therefore hereby ordered that the ministry…do halt
any further action in the procurement of a contractor for the Karuma
Hydropower Project, including the award of a contract to the best
evaluated bidder."
'Biased' evaluation
The IGG spokesperson, Ms Ali Munira, told the Sunday Monitor yesterday
that they have "insider information" that the procurement might have
been compromised.
According to the IGG, the results of the re-evaluation ordered by court,
seems biased and could be contrary to procurement principles.
The IGG said the court intervention had not improved the process because
the technical evaluation returned a company that is alleged to have
falsified information in its bid.
The IGG's notice, which the ministry disregarded, is the second halt
order—the first having been issued by the High Court months back. The
court process was disposed of and the ministry went ahead to evaluate
the financial bids before announcing the winner on Friday.
Neither Energy Minister Irene Muloni nor State Minister for Energy Simon
D'Ujanga could be reached on phone.
The Karuma dam, whose 600MW is a key factor to the country's energy
security plans, is almost a year behind schedule after intense lobbying
by politically-connected factions delayed the bidding process.
________________________________________________
This is International Rivers' mailing list on China's global footprint, and particularly Chinese investment in
international dam projects.
You received this message as a subscriber on the list: chinaglobal@list.internationalrivers.org
To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp
By NELSON WESONGA & DEAR JEANNE
The Monitor (Uganda), Sunday, January 27 2013
China International Water & Electric Corporation (CWE) has been awarded
the deal to construct the multi-billion Karuma Hydropower Dam.
This follows two years of protracted legal battles that witnessed
several cancellations, injunctions, investigations and a repeat of the
technical evaluation processes.
The bid was opened on Friday at the Ministry of Energy boardroom in
Kampala. Available information indicates that CWE offered $1.4 billion
(Shs3.4 trillion) for engineering, procurement and construction of the
600MW dam.
Perlite Construction Company Ltd is the other company that had made it
to the final stage. The total project cost is estimated at $2.2 billion
(Shs5.9 trillion).
Eng. Paul Mubiru, the acting permanent secretary, said the project,
rocked by claims of irregularity in the tendering process, is two years
behind schedule.
And even the final stage was not without controversy as Sunday Monitor
learnt that the Inspectorate of Government (IGG) had directed that the
process be halted.
The IGG on Friday wrote to the permanent secretary, citing allegations
that some officials in the ministry had been compromised by one of the
six bidding firms.
The IGG wrote: "It is therefore hereby ordered that the ministry…do halt
any further action in the procurement of a contractor for the Karuma
Hydropower Project, including the award of a contract to the best
evaluated bidder."
'Biased' evaluation
The IGG spokesperson, Ms Ali Munira, told the Sunday Monitor yesterday
that they have "insider information" that the procurement might have
been compromised.
According to the IGG, the results of the re-evaluation ordered by court,
seems biased and could be contrary to procurement principles.
The IGG said the court intervention had not improved the process because
the technical evaluation returned a company that is alleged to have
falsified information in its bid.
The IGG's notice, which the ministry disregarded, is the second halt
order—the first having been issued by the High Court months back. The
court process was disposed of and the ministry went ahead to evaluate
the financial bids before announcing the winner on Friday.
Neither Energy Minister Irene Muloni nor State Minister for Energy Simon
D'Ujanga could be reached on phone.
The Karuma dam, whose 600MW is a key factor to the country's energy
security plans, is almost a year behind schedule after intense lobbying
by politically-connected factions delayed the bidding process.
________________________________________________
This is International Rivers' mailing list on China's global footprint, and particularly Chinese investment in
international dam projects.
You received this message as a subscriber on the list: chinaglobal@list.internationalrivers.org
To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp
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