MP D.Enkhbat of the Green Party answers our reporter’s
questions.

What
is your opinion on the gauge for the new railway to be built?

I think we are overreacting on both sides of
the controversy.  Personally I think we should
have both, on either side of Tavantolgoi. Mongolia cannot ignore the fact that
China is the world biggest market for coal. The Chinese will get their coal
through any gauge. So our railway policy should consider the world market which
is growing rapidly.

Will a narrow gauge
railway mean that our coal will be exported unrefined?

We have to be prepared to transport coal through both our
neighbors and also be ready for the eventuality that either of them can create
difficulties for transport of Mongolian coal through their territory. We have
to look beyond Russia and China and think of markets in Japan and South Korea. Our
real security will come only when we are able to expand our market.  Our politicians must not mix up politics, economics
and technology. 

You have criticized
the Government Policy Document for not giving enough importance to the water
issue.

Yes, the document is all about mining only. We cannot have big
mining without adequate water resources. In the whole of human history there
has not been any development without water. We have to provide for water
whether we build a mine or a city.

What do you think of the
Government decision to split Tavantolgoi into two parts?

 I do not support this
idea.

I understood that one part will be run by Mongolian sand the
other by foreigners. What happens if after five years the foreigners sell their
shares to the Chinese and leave Mongolia?  Or if the Chinese buy coal only from foreigners,
and not from Mongolians?  There will be
conflict between Mongolians and foreigners. I think the big Mongolian consortium
should work as the extractor and the foreign companies stick to exploration,
marketing and selling, and public relations and management. There is no need to
classify companies as Mongolian and foreign. The only criterion should be the
quality of the company. If this is met, national companies will be better.

What do you think of
giving every citizen a share of Tavantolgoi?

I am not in support of this. Mongolia has 15 strategic
mining deposits and a citizen cannot ask for a share in all of them. Mongolian
citizens should instead have shares in a big national mining corporation which will
own a certain share in Tavantolgoi, and in uranium and petroleum companies,
something like the Bayan Mongol corporation that MP L.Bold suggested before the
2008 election.

What about the
general expectation among individuals of receiving huge amounts of money from
Tavantolgoi?

They are mistaken.  I support
the share option to every citizen because otherwise the money will end up in
politicians’ pockets. But those planning to do things with the money they hope
to receive will soon find that getting cash and getting a share are different
things.