YANGON, Myanmar, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Construction of a Chinese-backed hydroelectric dam was suspended because it was contrary to the people's will, Myanmar President Thein Sein said Friday.
Thein Sein announced suspension of the $3.6 billion Myitsone dam construction project in a letter he read to lawmakers, the BBC reported.
Pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was among the conservationists, environmentalists and others opposing the project. Objections ranged from a lack of transparency to the project's potential environmental impact.
Suspension of the project is considered by observers as a rare win for social and political activists, the BBC said. But opponents said they remain concerned because Thein Sein said he is suspending construction only during his term, which ends in 2015.
The project was developed jointly by Myanmar and China at the head of the Irrawaddy River in an area of conflict between the government and ethnic minority insurgents. The dam, which was scheduled to be complete in 2019, would be, at 500 feet high, one of the world's tallest structures.
The military junta turned over power to civilian authority in the country formerly known as Burma in March. Many of the civilian leaders are former military personnel.
