Outrage over Mekong EIA process
Local activists and academics are angry that Chinese officials and companies working on the Mekong River Navigation Channel Improvement Project will be the decision maker on an Environmental Impact Assessment of the project. The TEAM Group of Companies, a Thai consultancy hired by the Chinese state-owned company, met on May 9 with local environmental group Rak Chiang Khong in Chiang Khong district in Chiang Rai to discuss the EIA procedures for the project and assured that there would be proper public participation. Orawan Siriratpiriya, a representative from the TEAM Group, said the company had signed a contract with China’s CCCC Second Harbor Consultants Co Ltd to help collect material for the EIA report plus conduct a public hearing in Thailand.
