(April 3, 2000) Pan, academician of both Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering and head of the experts panel for the Three Gorges project revealed that some cracks have been detected on the surface of the northern-bank dam section, and they have been treated properly.
Worley report – Se San 3 impact study, vol 2 (PDF format)
(April 1, 2000) The present Technical Assistance had the purpose of verifying that the Se San 3 project is a least cost development alternative, and of preparing it as a model hydropower project, to be managed commercially following internationally recommended operational, financial, environmental and social practices. … The present Technical Assistance was composed of two phases. Phase I concerns finance and ownership issues and is the subject of a separate report. Phase II concerns the Environmental, Social and Technical Analysis, and is the subject of this report.
Worley report – Se San 3 impact study, vol 1 (PDF format)
(April 1, 2000) The present Technical Assistance had the purpose of verifying that the Se San 3 project is a least cost development alternative, and of preparing it as a model hydropower project, to be managed commercially following internationally recommended operational, financial, environmental and social practices. … The present Technical Assistance was composed of two phases. Phase I concerns finance and ownership issues and is the subject of a separate report. Phase II concerns the Environmental, Social and Technical Analysis, and is the subject of this report.
Spring 2000 Campaign Letter
Crown agency spends billions secretly backing environmentally destructive projects others won’t touch
World Bank: management controls stronger, but challenges in fighting corruption remain
(April 1, 2000) GAO report evaluates WB management controls used to curb corruption.
President Obasanjo appeals for immediate debt relief for Nigeria
(March 28, 2000) President Olusegun Obasanjo has called for immediate debt relief for Nigeria, pointing to the fact that his country is at a crucial time in its democratic transition and in urgent need of international support.
Vietnam cranks up second largest hydro plant in test run
(March 28, 2000) In a move that is expected to appease Vietnam’s growing energy needs, the first trial run of the country’s second largest hydroelectric power plant went off without a hitch, officials said on Tuesday.
Documents suggest EDC influenced probe
(March 28, 2000) International Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew is standing by an independent report reviewing the Export Development Corporation even though recently released government documents indicate the Crown corporation influenced the final draft of the report.
Breaking the Bank
(May 25, 2000) A growing chorus is demanding that the powerful World Bank be closed.
PRESS RELEASE Three Gorges executive fired for malfeasance
(March 24, 2000) State auditors unravel Three Gorges web of corruption – A top executive with the largest Three Gorges dam subcontractor was fired in January for his decision to buy second-hand, dilapidated construction machinery to build the world’s largest hydrodam.
Chinese official sentenced to death for stealing resettlement funds
(March 24, 2000) Chongqing city has handed down the first dealth penalty in connection with Three Gorges corruption, a Singapore-based newspaper, Lianhe Zaobao, reported on March 11.
News briefs
Pierre’s math
(March 23, 2000) When first challenged over the Export Development Corporation, Pierre Pettigrew asserted that it made commercially sound loans. This wasn’t very plausible, since the EDC exists precisely to make loans that commercial institutions won’t.
Minister’s numbers don’t add up
(March 23, 2000) International Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew’s glowing presentation in the House of Commons this week of large profits at the Export Development Corporation — and a 50-year total of "only $1 billion" in federal grants to the trade agency — is undermined by the Chretien government’s quiet write-off of $800 million in bad EDC loans since 1992.
Malaysian study will gauge feasibility of Mekong dam
(March 22, 2000) The Cambodian national Mekong Committee has promised to study all those possible impacts and, in January, gave the go-ahead for a feasibility study of the proposed $700 million Sambor or "Abundance" dam project. … A Malaysian consulting company called GIG Development Ltd has been approved to launch the study.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Probe Media
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