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dam-l LS: Vietnam National Assembly puts breaks on Son La dam

>                 Copyright 2000 South China Morning Post Ltd.
>                           South China Morning Post
>                                       
>                                 May 24, 2000
>                                       
>    SECTION: News; Pg. 13
>    HEADLINE: Back to drawing board for massive dam plan
>    BYLINE: VIETNAM Huw Watkin in Hanoi
>
>    The National Assembly, often criticised as a rubber-stamp parliament,
>    has confounded its critics by putting the brakes on a massive
>    hydro-electric power scheme previously touted as essential to northern
>    Vietnam's economic growth.
>    Assembly delegates meeting in Hanoi have effectively put the project
>    on hold despite increasing shortages of electricity and fresh water in
>    the capital, claiming feasibility plans submitted by Electricity of
>    Vietnam did not adequately deal with potential social and
>    environmental impacts.
>    The hydroelectric plant, first proposed 10 years ago, demands the
>    inundation of more than 450 square km of forest and farmland and would
>    require the relocation of nearly 100,000 people. The project would
>    consume up to US$ 4 billion (HK$ 31 billion) in investment capital to
>    produce about 3.5 megawatts of electricity annually. The scheme was
>    previously mooted for completion before 2010.
>    But in a heated assembly debate, the state electricity utility was
>    sent packing after being told its feasibility and impact assessments
>    had fallen far short of international standards.
>    "Assembly delegates have asked for more detail on the massive scheme
>    and for feasibility studies on a scaled-down version," one
>    state-controlled newspaper reported yesterday.
>    "Further studies need to be conducted on the seismic conditions of the
>    area, as well as the annual water needs of the Red River delta
>    provinces, land clearance, population relocation and compensation,"
>    the report quoted Planning and Investment Minister Tran Xuan Gia as
>    saying.
>    Environmental and humanitarian groups welcomed the assembly's
>    decision, saying they had previously feared the plan would be approved
>    without serious consideration of its impact.
>    "It's an encouraging sign that the authorities are showing an
>    awareness of the negatives of such a project, rather than just its
>    economic importance," one Hanoi-based foreign environmentalist said.
>    But Professor Nguyen Tri Vieng, of Hanoi's Water Resources University,
>    said he was confident the project eventually would go ahead, even if
>    it were a scaled -down version.
>    "The main reason the National Assembly halted the project is because
>    Electricity of Vietnam had not done enough preparation on the
>    relocation and rehabilitation of people affected by the dam and the
>    difficulty that would create in raising foreign capital," he said.
>    "But this problem can be solved and the project will be approved
>    sooner or later because of it's economic usefulness."
>    He added the dam would allow better control of flooding which
>    frequently destroys crops in the Red River delta.
>
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