A federal judge has issued a restraining order against plans for the Belo Monte Dam on Brazil’s Xingu River due to illegality in the bidding process.

The 11,181 MW Belo Monte Dam would be have the third highest generating capacity of any dam in the world. It is one of only several large dams currently planned for the Amazon basin, along the Xingu, Madeira, Tapajós, Tocantins and other rivers. The government estimates that these dams will provide the majority of Brazil’s electric capacity over the next several decades — primarily for mining, metal processing and industrial agriculture industries in the Eastern Amazon.

The dams have drawn intense opposition from environmentalists and indigenous groups. In June 2007, the 450-person Enawene Nawe tribe blocked a major highway in protest of the planned Xingu dams, while a gathering of more than 1,000 indigenous representatives is planned for May 19-23 in the city of Altamira.

In the same week, however, the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) announced that it would fund up to 75% of the Jirau dam on the Madeira River, which scheduled to be bid on May 19. The 3,300 MW Jirau dam would be the second new dam on the Madeira, after the planned 3,150 MW San Antonio dam, which was auctioned in 2007 and is projected to go operational by late 2012.