Tasang Dam

Coordinates: 20°27′23″N 98°39′0″E / 20.45639°N 98.65000°E / 20.45639; 98.65000
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Tasang Dam
GWh
per year

The Tasang Dam (

hydroelectric dam in Myanmar and the tallest dam in Southeast Asia. The Tasang will cost more than US$6 billion and is planned for completion in 2022.[1][2] The groundbreaking ceremony was in March 2007, but construction has been stalled, and there has been little activity at the dam site as of 2008.[1]

Substantial domestic and international controversy surrounds the Tasang Dam project. The Tasang dam is one of five dams the Myanmar Government plans to build on the Salween River.[3]

Background

Since the late 1990s, the

Burma. 85% of the hydro-electricity produced is expected to be transmitted to Thailand.[1]

Design

The Tasang

GWh annually.[4] Tasang's 870 km2 (340 sq mi) reservoir will bisect a large portion of Shan State, preluding serious social and environmental problems.[1]

Construction

Construction on the dam is being led by the Thai MDX Group along with the China Gezhouba Group Co.,

China Southern Power Grid Company, China Three Gorges Project Corporation and the British Malcolm Dunstan & Associates. The groundbreaking ceremony for the dam was in March 2007, but since the ceremony, actual construction of the dam has been stalled, and there has been little activity at the dam-site.[1]

Social Impact

Since 1996, as many as 300,000 villagers, mostly Shan people have been displaced to make room for the Tasang Dam's reservoir. Thousands more relocations are expected as construction progresses. The dam's reservoir will dissect Shan State in half –almost to the Chinese border – and will negatively impact the local communities and ecosystems. Myanmar's Junta is responsible for the relocations and there have reports of serious human rights violations including executions.[1][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Tasang Dam". Burma Rivers Network. 2008. Archived from the original on 19 January 2010. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  2. ^ "Myanmar-Thai hydropower project starts on Thanlwin river". Salween Watch. Live Journal. April 5, 2007. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
  3. ^ "Thailand renews plans to build controversial Myanmar dam". Trend Capital. 2008-03-16. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  4. ^ "Flooding the Future: Hydropower and Cultural Survival in the Salween River Basin". Burma Project. EarthRights International. 2005-04-28. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
  5. ^ Mizzima News:Dam construction endangers lives of locals: report Archived 2009-11-18 at the Wayback Machine, August 5, 2009, Retrieved on April 28, 2011
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