Judge suspends bidding on Amazon dam project opposed by environmentalists, ‘Avatar’ director

Bidding on huge Amazon dam project halted again

BRASILIA, Brazil — A Brazilian judge on Monday suspended for a second time bidding on a massive hydroelectric dam project opposed by environmentalists, Indians and “Avatar” director James Cameron.

The ruling can be appealed by Brazil’s government and a spokesman for the National Electrical Energy Association said the auction will proceed as planned on Tuesday if the decision is overturned. He declined to be named in line with association policy.

Bidding on the Belo Monte dam was suspended by the judge last week in response to a claim by the state attorney general that it could have serious environmental and social consequences. But a court in Brasilia overturned that ruling.

A federal tribunal in northern Para state released a statement late Monday saying judge Antonio Carlos Almeida had once against ordered bidding on construction of the Belo Monte dam halted.

The planned $11 billion, 11,000-megawatt project to dam the Xingu River, which feeds the Amazon, would be the third-largest such hydroelectric project in the world.

Cameron has lobbied to stop the project, visiting Brazil’s Indians and even comparing their struggle against the dam to the plot of his blockbuster movie “Avatar.”

“Avatar” depicts a fictitious Na’vi race fighting to protect its homeland, the forest-covered moon Pandora, from plans to extract its resources.

Environmentalists and indigenous groups say Belo Monte would devastate wildlife and the livelihoods of 40,000 people who live in the area to be flooded.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva insists that the dam is essential, and says it will provide clean and renewable energy to feed increasing demand.