Burmese government halts Myitsone Dam

The Burmese government has suspended a highly controversial hydroelectric dam project due to growing public opposition.

The campaign against the construction of the Myitsone dam brought together conservationists, scholars, and political activists including Aung San Suu Kyi, and had become a serious test for the new civilian-led, military-backed government.

Myitsone was being developed jointly by the state Myanmar Ministry of Electric Power, the privately-owned Asia World Company of Burma and the China Power Investment Corporation.

Scheduled for completion in 2019, the dam would have created a reservoir some 766 sq kmor 296 square miles - an area slightly bigger than Singapore. The vast bulk of the electricity generated - some reports say as much as 90% - was destined for export to China.

"There's a widespread perception that China has taken advantage of Burma's situation over these past decades," according to Thant Myint-U, author of Where China Meets India: Burma and the New Crossroads of Asia.

"Burma can benefit enormously from Chinese trade and investment, but there is almost bound to be a backlash if Chinese projects are undertaken with zero transparency and little concern for their impact on local communities."