Brazil OKs Amazon dam, orders environment spending

Brazil has approved the construction of a $3.9 billion hydroelectric dam project in the Amazon.

But the country's environmental agency said Thursday in a statement that the consortium building the Jirau power plant must spend an undisclosed sum to fund two new nature reserves and protect endangered species.

It also must spend $16 million to build new housing for people whose homes will be under water.

Environmentalists and locals have opposed the project, saying it will cause environmental destruction and displace locals.

The dam should have a capacity of 3,300 megawatts when completed in 2013 on the Madeira River in Rondonia state.

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