The fate of the $3.6 billion Myitsone dam in northern Kachin state has hung in the balance since it was abruptly halted by Myanmar in 2011 following protests over environmental and safety concerns. The hydropower project came to symbolise China's economic dominance in formerly junta-run Myanmar and now poses a delicate challenge to the country's new civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. A commission advising Suu Kyi's administration on whether to scrap the dam submitted its first report to her government on Friday, according to the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar. The dam was originally designed to funnel the vast majority of its electricity back to the mainland. Beijing is still by far Myanmar's largest foreign investor, despite democratic reforms in recent years that have seen Western firms pour in.

Source: The Nation Bangkok November 12, 2016 06:51 UTC