Al Jazeera has a post on Chile rejecting a $8bil dam project in Patagonia based on environmental impact.

President Michelle Bachelet's government has rejected a huge $8bn hydroelectric project in Chile's Patagonia region, citing its adverse impact on the environment.

The decision by the Chilean cabinet to shelve the controversial seven-year-old scheme was a victory for environmentalist groups which fought the proposal to build five dams in a pristine river basin.

"The Hidroaysen hydroelectric project is hereby rejected," said Pablo Badenier, the environment minister.

Hundreds of people on Tuesday cheered the decision in the streets of Santiago and in the region of Aysen, about 1,300km south of the Chilean capital.

Patricio Rodrigo, executive secretary of the Patagonia Defence Council, called the decision "the greatest triumph of the environmental movement in Chile".

The old way of only using the issue of addressing the power generation requirements have lost.

The project aimed at generating 2,750 megawatts of electricity, boosting Chile's installed capacity of 17,500 megawatts.

Maximo Pacheco, the energy minister, said the Hidroaysen project "suffers from important faults in its execution in not giving due consideration to aspects related to the people who live there".