After a discussion spanning almost the whole of Thursday, Parliament agreed by 39 votes to 13 to accept for discussion the revised draft agreement on Oyu Tolgoi. The draft now goes back to the Standing Committee on the Economy which will review the suggestions made at today’s session and then return the draft to Parliament. All this will be after Naadam, and most likely on July 14.
The members who voted against discussing the draft in its present form were from both DP and MPRP. They and others sought information and clarification from the working group which had prepared the revised draft. Their reservations extended to several areas. Some wanted a provision to be included that would allow the Mongolian side to cancel the agreement if the project does not start in two years, others wanted a similar right to cancellation if the investor side transferred its shares without proper notification. There was demand for regular audit by an international firm. Several MPs pressed for Mongolia to borrow money from other sources to pay for its share of the investment expenses as 34 % shareholder in the project.
Earlier, the Standing Committee on the Economy had decided after a meeting on Tuesday afternoon to submit the final version of the draft to Parliament. Both the MPRP and the DP groups in Parliament had earlier announced their acceptance of the provision that the Mongolian Government would own a 34 percent share in the project. This effectively ended the debate on whether Mongolia should have stakes in the project or will insist on revenue from taxes and profits only.
Source: Onoodor, Zunii medee, www.miningweekly.com
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