www射-国产免费一级-欧美福利-亚洲成人福利-成人一区在线观看-亚州成人

chinadaily.com.cn
left corner left corner
China Daily Website

Troubled copper mine back on track

Updated: 2013-06-20 07:14
By Qin Zhongwei in Mandalay, Myanmar ( China Daily)

Editor's note: China Daily continues its coverage from neighboring countries in an effort to provide insight into topics of significance to China. In the third installment of a four-part series on Myanmar, we report on Chinese investment in the country.

 

 

Troubled copper mine back on track

Pupils from villages near the Monywa Copper Mining Project accept books donated by Wanbao Mining. The Chinese company has promised to inject $1 million annually to build libraries, kindergartens and other infrastructure to benefit the local community. PHOTOS BY ZHANG WEI / CHINA DAILY

 

Geng Yi, the managing director of the Letpadaung Copper Mine, is cautiously optimistic that one of China's largest investments in Myanmar will "soon be back on track". Months of protests by local farmers and activists had brought operations to a halt.

The project, a joint venture between China's Wanbao Mining and its Myanmar partner, Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd, was launched in March last year. However, operations were suspended at the end of November after local villagers and opposition activists began protesting about controversial land acquisitions and the mine's impact on the local environment.

A "ray of hope" appeared in March when a government inquiry commission, chaired by Myanmar's opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, released the results of its investigation, which found the copper mine to be economically beneficial. The commission said the mine should be allowed to continue operating.

However, the report also said the project needed greater transparency, adding that the locals' concerns about compensation and the environment should be addressed.

"We think it is an objective verdict and reflects the situation in a faithful manner," Geng said. He said Wanbao and its Myanmar partner are making the changes suggested in the report and creating more benefits for the local community.

Wanbao has spent $5 million in compensation for the villagers' land and another $6 million in building new houses for them and relocating their temples.

Geng said Wanbao built small- and medium-sized enterprises to ensure that local farmers had jobs after their land was appropriated and it provided them with systematic training. In addition, at least one member of each relocated family will get the opportunity to work in the copper mine.

Troubled copper mine back on track

Geng Yi, managing director of Myanmar Wanbao Mining Copper Ltd 

In the future, the company should provide more access to improve the project's transparency and have more public consultations, according to Win Myo Thu, an environmentalist who heads the non-governmental organization ECODEV in Yangon.

"I tend to agree that if the project is really beneficial and the environmental problems are manageable, it should continue. But we need more information," said Win Myo Thu.

Chen Defang, president of Wanbao Mining, admitted the company had failed to consult locals enough.

"Local people were not involved in our development plan," he said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

Greater engagement

The Letpadaung mine is part of the company's Monywa copper mine project in Sagaing Division, northwestern Myanmar, which Wanbao took over from Ivanhoe, a Canadian company, in 2010. Wanbao had invested about $500 million in the project by October.

Because his company has a Chinese background, it usually finds itself under fire, Geng said.

His observation was supported by Win Myo Thu, who said there was a group of people in Myanmar who wanted to turn public anger into anti-China sentiment.

The protests against the Letpadaung copper mine were also fanned by some of the local media, and the mine was not the only Chinese-backed project in Myanmar to be targeted in this way. In 2011, the construction of a proposed $3.6 billion dam by a Chinese company was postponed because the project, it was claimed, was contrary to the will of the people.

Chinese companies should do a political analysis and risk assessment before starting a project, and should be aware of the complexities of Myanmar's ongoing democratic transition, Win Myo Thu said.

Myanmar and China should also work together and establish a platform to exchange information and identify public concerns, he suggested.

"It is very important not only to improve the image at project level, but to improve China's image with citizens by engaging with everybody," he said.

Wanbao is interacting more actively with the local media and NGOs, and it is also using social media such as Facebook to help keep people informed of the latest developments.

The company established a new community and social development department and promised to inject $1 million into it every year. The department will build libraries, kindergartens and other infrastructure. A 10-member medical team was created in May 2012 to provide medical services to 28 neighboring villages.

 

Troubled copper mine back on track

Ore is smelted at the mine and processed into sheet copper. The wet smelting process used at the mine has great advantages in environmental protection. 

Previous Page 1 2 Next Page

8.03K
 
...
...
...
主站蜘蛛池模板: 综合久久91| 成人中文字幕一区二区三区 | 久久99国产精品亚洲 | 天堂va欧美ⅴa亚洲va一国产 | 97超在线| 手机免费在线看毛片 | 香蕉视频黄在线观看 | 成人在线不卡视频 | 久99频这里只精品23热 视频 | 成人亚洲精品 | 亚洲线精品一区二区三区 | 成人免费看| 亚洲精品美女 | 97精品福利视频在线 | 日本高清无吗免费播放 | 亚洲精品不卡久久久久久 | 久久精品一品道久久精品9 久久精品一区 | 超91精品手机国产在线 | 中文久久 | 超清首页 国产 亚洲 丝袜 | 一级国产在线观看高清 | 亚洲精品国产福利片 | 午夜一级毛片看看 | 亚洲字幕波多野结衣作品 | 久久久一本 | 国产禁女女网站免费看 | 国产成人女人视频在线观看 | 国产精品理论片在线观看 | 国产一区二区三区免费看 | 国产成人在线免费视频 | 欧美在线成人午夜影视 | 国产高清视频在线观看 | 99国产成人高清在线视频 | chinese农村野战videos | 日本午色www高清视频 | 干综合网 | 午夜视频在线观看一区 | 国产精品国产国产aⅴ | 66精品 | 日本特黄特色 | 激情五月色播五月 |