NAYPYIDAW: Myanmar has revised a controversial copper mine deal with a Chinese company, officials said yesterday, after a series of protests against the project that triggered a violent police crackdown.
The new terms give the Myanmar government 51 percent of the revenue, Minister of Mines Myint Aung told parliament, in an apparent attempt to assuage public anger by giving the nation a share of the profits.
Chinese firm Wanbao will receive 30 percent of the revenue from the Letpadaung mine while military-owned Myanmar Economic Holding (MEH) will take 19 percent.
Previously the mine at Monywa in central Myanmar was a joint venture between Wanbao and Myanmar Economic Holding.
Wanbao will also contribute several million dollars each year for corporate social responsibility activities and for the eventual mine reclamation process, Myint Aung said.
A botched raid on a protest at the copper mine last November sparked an outpouring of anger after police used phosphorus against protesters, in the harshest crackdown since the end of military rule.
Dozens of monks and villagers were injured in the raid, which came as protesters tested the limits of new-found freedoms under a quasi-civilian government.
Villagers living in the area said yesterday they would keep up their resistance to the project.
AFP
