From Reuters:
China’s environmental ministry has won its latest battle with influential state-owned power firms after forcing two of them to stop hydropower projects in the southwest province of Yunnan, an official said.
Both Huaneng and Huadian — parents of the Hong Kong-listed Huaneng Power International (0902.HK)(600011.SS) and Huadian Power (1071.HK)(600027.SS) — have stopped construction after an order issued by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, said Wan Bentai, chief engineer with the ministry.
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.
“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 All the workers have been withdrawn.”
