The regional government in the Irkutsk region in Siberia is reported to be lobbying for revisions to the Boguchany hydroelectric power plant project.

According to the Interfax news agency, the government is concerned about a proposal to build the plant’s dam to a height of 208m, as compared with the originally planned 185m. Fears are that this increased height would lead to the flooding of local villages and large tracts of forest.

The first units of the 3000MW plant are scheduled to start operation in 2009.