Brazil is delaying a bid to build a multi-billion dollar hydroelectric dam in the Amazon until 2010, an official said on Wednesday, amid criticism of the project's environmental impact.
The 11 gigawatt Belo Monte project, with an estimated cost of at least 16 billion reais ($9.4 billion), is to be developed with state-run generator Eletrobras (ELET5.SA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).
"We can say that the auction for Belo Monte is viable for January," Marcio Zimmermann, executive secretary of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, told reporters.
The delays have come largely from trouble in acquiring an environmental license for the project. Brazil seeks to have licenses in place before starting the bid to reduce investors' perception of political risk.
Private industry leaders say the cost will be considerably greater than the official estimates.
Government leaders say the project is necessary to ensure that Brazil can meet growing demand for power, but activists say it would displace indigenous people living in the area and flood large parts of the sensitive Amazon rainforest.
Brazil suffered a major blackout last week that left nearly half of the nation without power, but that incident was attributed to transmissions problems rather than lack of generation capacity.
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN1850756020091118
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