(December 5, 2002) China’s newest power giant, created with much fanfare in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People in September, aims to finance not only the completion of the Three Gorges project on the Yangtze River but also the construction of many more huge dams upstream, a respected Chinese publication reports.
European [Investment] Bank dilutes transparency
(December 5, 2002) The European Investment Bank, the development funding arm of the EU, is likely to find its new transparency rules do not satisfy social and environmental campaigners.
MoI plans 200-MW hydro-electric plant in Quang Nam
(December 2, 2002) The Ministry of Industry (MoI) is seeking government approval to build the 200-MW Dak My 4 hydroelectric plant near the Dak My River in Vietnamese central Quang Nam province, at a cost of VND3,500 billion
($229 million). The time to kick off construction was not announced.
Ending Vietnam’s hydro threat to Cambodia’s Mekong tributaries
(November 30, 2002) The loss of lives and uncompensated damage to property, riverside crops, and fish catches, is the tragic outcome of a deliberate and economically flawed hydro development strategy.
‘World’s greatest air-conditioner’ gives rise to a lot of hot air
The extent to which the huge Three Gorges reservoir will affect the climate in the region is the hot topic at the centre of a perplexing series of contradictory statements issued recently by the corporation building the dam.
Timeline for the dam
(November 27, 2002) A guide to what’s happening when in the Three Gorges project construction schedule.
U.S. jury may quiz Kaijuka
(November 23, 2002) Richard Kaijuka, former World Bank associate director, may face a U.S. grand jury set over the US$10,000 bribery scandal concerning the 250MW US$550m Bujagali power project, reports Alfred Wasike.
Argentine govt. may gain from World Bank default
(November 22, 2002) Argentina’s decision to default on its debt to the World Bank could hurt the country’s poor but might also prove beneficial in the long run, some analysts here say.
Ending the environmental threat to northeast Cambodia’s rivers
(November 22, 2002) Rethinking Vietnam’s reliance on large hydro dams: Vietnam’s hydro expansion in the central highlands is not only an environmental menace to downstream Cambodians, it is a costly and inefficient strategy for expanding electricity supply, according to a new report on Vietnam’s power sector.
Africa’s Debt: Who Owes Whom?
(November 22, 2002) An alternative strategy is for African countries to selectively repudiate past loans, invoking the doctrine of “odious debt” in international law as well as historical precedents…
Katse communities forgotten by LHDA
(November 22, 2002) As the LHDA continues to compensate some communities affected by the giant Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP)district, others similarly affected by the Project are forgotten.
Big dam becomes transport bottleneck
(November 21, 2002) Traffic jams on the Yangtze will be inevitable in the months ahead, while construction of the Three Gorges dam renders the river impassable for some passengers and freight, Chinese press reports say.
Ugandan project faces attack over cost of power
(November 21, 2002) Power from a controversial hydro-electric scheme for which Uganda is seeking World Bank backing could cost it far more than necessary, according to development campaigners.
Going gets tough for dam officials
Recent Chinese media reports paint a rosy picture of the Three Gorges project, while also stressing the enormous challenges the dam builders face in the months ahead.
World Bank dam in Uganda overpriced by $280 million
(November 20, 2002) A review of project contract reveals that Ugandans will bear the excessive costs of World Bank-Supported Bujagali dam, reports IRN.
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