The environment ministry has won its latest battle with influential State-owned power firms after forcing two of them to stop hydropower projects in Yunnan Province, an official said.

Both Huaneng and Huadian – parents of the Hong Kong-listed Huaneng Power International and Huadian Power – stopped construction after an order issued by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Wan Bentai, its chief engineer, said.

The two firms began building the two massive hydropower facilities – known as the Ludila and Longkaikou and situated on the Jinsha River, an upstream tributary of the Yangtze – without conducting mandatory environmental impact assessments.

But even if the two companies comply with legal requirements, the projects still might not go ahead, Wan said.

“They will have to wait until the overall assessment of water resources on the Jinsha River is completed,” he said.

Both firms were accused of pushing through expensive construction work as quickly as possible, thereby forcing the environment ministry to give the go-ahead or risk accusations of waste, but Wan insisted the projects have now been completely stopped.

“We sent a taskforce to the area to conduct inspections and both projects have already stopped. It isn’t a problem now. All the workers have been withdrawn.”

In 2005, what was then the State Environmental Protection Administration – frustrated by the activities of big State-owned firms – launched “environmental protection storms” against the likes of Huaneng and Three Gorges Project Corporation.

At the time, Huaneng officials tried to pull rank, arguing that as central government administered enterprises they were not bound by the environmental agency’s rulings.

Although SEPA won that standoff, activists expressed concern that as soon as the bad publicity passed, the power giants were allowed to carry on as usual.
 
Despite SEPA’s elevation to a fully fledged ministry last year, critics still fear it lacks the authority to force the big companies to tow the line.

Wan insisted, however, that every company was treated without fear or favor.

“No matter what your contribution to China’s development has been in the past, if you do not obey the law you will be punished by law,” he said.

Reuters