Brazil judge halts bidding for huge Amazon dam opposed by environmentalists
By APWednesday, April 14, 2010
Brazil judge halts bidding for huge Amazon dam
SAO PAULO — A judge has temporarily halted bidding for a controversial $11 billion dam that Brazil wants to build on a major tributary of the Amazon River.
Brazil’s state-run Agencia Brasil news agency says the judge cited environmental concerns in his ruling.
The decision Wednesday came after movie director James Cameron visited the small city of Altamira near where the dam is scheduled to be built. He has compared the fight over the dam to a real-life “Avatar” in Brazil’s Amazon rain forest
In an interview with The Associated Press, Cameron calls the judge’s decision a small victory, adding: “I don’t expect the battle is over.”
Bidding for the dam contract had been scheduled for next Tuesday. Brazil’s government can appeal the decision.
