BEIJING, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- Myanmar has agreed to reconsider the recent suspension of the China-led $3.6 billion Myitsone hydroelectric project, the Chinese foreign ministry said.
Construction of the $3.6 billion joint project was ordered suspended by Myanmar President Thein Sein last month. China Daily reported the two sides agreed to reconsider the suspension during talks between Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and his visiting Myanmar counterpart Wunna Maung Lwin.
However, it was not clear whether the Myanmar side would agree to lift the suspension.
The Myanmar foreign minister was quoted as saying his government highly valued its friendly relations with China.
Work on the Myitsone hydropower plant on the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar's northern Kachin State, which has been in progress since December 2009, was suspended on Thein Sein's orders. The project had been estimated to produce 29,400 million kilowatt-hours of electricity when completed in 2019.
At the time of the announcement of the suspension, the BBC quoted President Thein Sein's letter to parliament as saying the dam was contrary to the will of the people.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of Myanmar's pro-democracy movement, also opposes the dam project as do the Kachin rebels, who have been fighting government troops for years.
Myanmar, formerly called Burma, was under military rule for decades but is now under civilian authority.
China Daily quoted the foreign ministry as saying the legitimate rights and interests of the companies involved in the project should be protected.
Lu Qizhou, president of China Power Investment, Myitsone's largest investor, was quoted by China's official Xinhua news agency as saying he was "totally astonished" by the move and refuted claims by green NGOs that the dam poses a serious threat to the environment.
A Chinese expert on Myanmar told China Daily China should learn from the issue for potential risks involved in foreign investments.
It was not clear whether the Chinese government had demanded financial compensation for work already done on the project, The New York Times reported.
