Brazil rushes ahead with giant dam

Canberra Times
Thursday 2214/2010 Page: 13

Brazil has speedily awarded the tender for a controversial hydroelectric dam projected to be the world's third-largest, despite fierce opposition from environmentalists. The Government pushed ahead with the bidding process to begin construction of the giant Belo Monte dam after beating back a last-minute suspension order with a rushed appeal. The tender was awarded to Norte Energia yesterday, a consortium led by a subsidiary of state electricity company Electrobras, after a series of court injunctions that had blocked and unblocked the auction process.

Indigenous groups and environmental activists had earlier staged demonstrations decrying the dam as ecologically irresponsible and a threat to the livelihood of 12,000 families, most of them Brazilian Indians living on the banks of the Xingu River that would feed the facility. "We, the indigenous, demand justice and respect," read one placard brandished by protesters in front of the National Electric Energy Agency in Brasilia, where the tender process was held.

About 500 activists with Greenpeace dumped three tonnes of manure in front of the building. A Greenpeace spokesman said, "There are other possible energy sources, such as wind power, biomass or solar. Opponents of the construction said they would not be defeated by the awarding of the tender. Greenpeace has said the construction would also divert some 100km of the Xlngu River in an area that is home to between 20,000 and 30,000 families.

The dam has become spectacularly controversial with even Avatar director James Cameron and star Sigourney Weaver wading in recently to give their backing to opponents and drawing parallels with the natives-versus-exploiters storyline of their blockbuster Hollywood movie. The regional Justice ministry in the state of Para tried to stall tenders for the $US10 billion-plus ($A10.7 billion) Belo Monte project in a ruling, calling the dam "an affront to environmental laws".

The Government, though, appears determined to push through with the dam, calling it essential to its plan to boost energy production in Brazil nearly threefold over the next two decades. For construction costs of: $A12 billion, Belo Monte is expected to be able to produce 11,000 MWs, which could supply 20 million homes with power.