Australia’s Snowy Mountains Engineering Corp (SMEC) is facing mounting criticism over its role in a 7000 megawatt hydropower project in Myanmar, Sky News reported on 27 July.
The SMEC is undertaking environmental and social impact studies into the construction of the $US8 billion ($A11 billion) Mong Ton or Tasang Dam, overseen by China’s Three Gorges Corp, in Myanmar’s eastern Shan State.
SMEC’s efforts to carry out local meetings and consultations on the project have met with significant local resistance.
The SMEC said in a statement it was striving to implement a participative, inclusive and transparent consultation process, and had tried to engage with civil society organisations on numerous occasions with limited success.
It comes as Australian Federal Police (AFP) investigate the corporation over alleged foreign bribes according to the report.