An Industrial Project That Could Change Myanmar

Excerpt:

For foreign companies, the project also means less environmental oversight. In the case of Thailand, new laws that require more environmental safeguards have slowed the expansion of the industrial complex at Map Ta Phut, the country’s largest petrochemical facility.

Local residents at Map Ta Phut have pointed to data indicating higher cancer rates and polluted air and groundwater — and government studies have backed them up. A group of residents filed a lawsuit that last year led to a court injunction on future development; the injunction was later lifted, after protracted negotiations.

By contrast, Italian-Thai officials said that there were no laws in Myanmar covering environmental protection but that they had conducted their own assessment of the likely impact in Dawei.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/27/world/asia/27iht-myanmar.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=globasasa22

I feel sorry for the locals there in Burma, but maybe Rayong will become a cleaner place? This is a huge project!