March 26, 2003

But activists warn of environmental harm.

(Excerpt)

China and the leaders of five other Asian nations yesterday endorsed major development plans along the Mekong river that will bring highways, power grids and telecommunications to the region.

But the schemes, tabled at the first leaders’ summit of the Greater Mekong Sub-region, or GMS, drew fire from activists who said an environmental disaster might be looming.

“Local people have had enough ‚Äì we want development in the Mekong that respects our river-based livelihood, our culture and our way of life,” said Mak Sithirith of the Fisheries
Action Coalition Team, a non-governmental organisation based in Cambodia. “Billions of dollars are being spent or budgeted to alleviate poverty but they seem to be doing the
opposite.”

The GMS, launched a decade ago to bolster trade and promote development, comprises Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Burma and China’s Yunnan province. The Asian Development Bank, the major funder, also took part.

A joint summit declaration said: “Our vision is of a GMS that fulfills its vast potential, freeing people from poverty and providing sustainable development for all.”

But in opening the summit, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen warned that the Mekong was under increasing pressure “because of our common dependence on its riches.”

“We see the signs of such stress in erosion, siltation and changes in water currents,” he said.

“For the sake of our common futures, we must implement a Mekong management strategy that ensures sustainability.”

Leaders at the one-day meeting ‚Äì ahead of a summit of Southeast Asian nations ‚Äì signed an agreement on interconnections of power grids and welcomed China’s
accession to a pact that would ease the flow of people and goods across regional frontiers.

The countries that border the Mekong hope the power grid will one day form a vast and cheap, six-nation energy network based on one of the mighty river’s greatest resources ‚Äì hydropower.

The integrated grid, expected to cost about US$4.5 billion, will connect hydropower dams in China, Burma and Laos to markets in Vietnam and Thailand. The last of about 32
projects within the grid is scheduled for completion in 2019.

The network is one of 11 key programmes for the decade, which will cost an estimated US$1 billion over the next three years although the funding is far from assured.

Other projects include a region-wide telecommunications network and construction and improvement of north-south and east-west highways that would open up isolated areas in
Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.