Issues involved in Yanba dam project
New land minister Maehara Seiji’s announcement that the controversial Yanba dam construction project will be scrapped has unleashed a nationwide debate over whether the cancellation is appropriate.
The planned construction site is in scenic Agatsuma Valley in Gunma Prefecture. In the upper stream of the Agatsuma River, the famous Kusatsu Onsen is located.
The stated aim of the dam project is to prevent floods and secure a stable supply of water to the neighboring prefectures of Ibaraki, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, and Tokyo.
The discussion on a dam project started in the wake of the 1947 Typhoon Kathleen that killed 1,100 people, flooding 300,000 houses and destroying 23,700 houses.
In late 1952, the Construction Ministry came up with the dam construction plan but met with fierce opposition from local residents. The Liberal Democratic Party government at the time tried to break up the unity of anti-dam residents in order to go ahead with the project.
However, water supply to the 4 prefectures and Tokyo has been more than enough. For Tokyo, for example, the water supply capacity is about 7,000,000 tons a day and the amount of daily water consumption is about 5,000,000 tons. Tokyo constantly has an excess of 2,000,000 tons in water supply. Four other prefectures also have enough water for 8,000,000 people a day, and more water will be left unused due to an expected decrease in population in these areas.
The government has so far explained that the planned dam will be capable of preventing disasters from heavy rains such as those that accompanied Typhoon Kathleen.
However, in 2007, when a typhoon as powerful as Typhoon Kathleen hit the area, the water level remained two meters below the river dykes even without a dam. This shows that the government has overestimated the rise of water level in such a heavy rain.
Some people say, “Cancellation of the dam project will be more costly than its continuation.” Others say, “To complete the project will be a better choice because 70 percent of the project expenses have already been used.”
However, the “70 percent” is the amount of money used so far. The construction of the dam itself has not started. In addition, a huge increase in the costs is expected.
The present land ministry estimates the total cost for the dam project at 460 billion yen, up 249 billion yen from an estimate made in 2003. However, another 130 billion yen will be necessary in costs for related compensation for the area’s residents in addition to interest payments for loans. All these factors taken together will bring the total cost of the dam project to 870 billion yen.
Already, 321 billion yen has been used. The land ministry admits that it is impossible to complete the dam construction with the remaining funds of 139 billion yen. While saying “460 billion yen”, the ministry hints at a further increase in the budget for this project.
As for the construction of dam-related roads, only 6 percent or 600 meters is completed for a national road, and 2 percent for local roads. The dam is supposed to be completed in 2015, but extension of the construction schedule is inevitable, and accordingly the cost will exceed 460 billion yen.
About 70 percent of residents, who lived in the planned construction site, have moved out. The original community is in decline. “We want our community back, a community with lots of neighbors.” This is the wish of the residents.
The need now is for the government to sincerely listen to local residents’ requests and take measures to compensate all the people concerned, to help reconstruct their lives, and to stimulate the local economy.
- Akahata, October 10, 2009