This is the last article you can read this month
You can read more article this month
You can read more articles this month
Sorry your limit is up for this month
Reset on:
Please help support the Morning Star by subscribing here
THOUSANDS of Chileans protested on Saturday against a hydropower project that they warn will endanger their water supply.
People marched through the streets of Santiago banging drums and waving banners against the construction of Alto Maipo. The 531 megawatt project is expected to be developed at two stations sited 31 miles east of the capital.
Environmentalist group Organisacion Ecosistemas spokesman Juan Pablo Orrego said: “The water supply of the whole city and of the entire metropolitan Santiago region is at risk.
“We’re talking both about drinking water and irrigation water.”
Chile is strapped for energy, but there’s strong opposition throughout the country to large coal-fired plants and hydroelectric projects due to other environmental concerns.
In June, the government handed a victory to environmentalists by rejecting HidroAysen.
The £4.75 billion proposal would have dammed two rivers in the south of the country in order to meet growing energy demand.
