LA PAZ, July 12 (Reuters) - Bolivia told Brazil it is annoyed by its plans to build two hydroelectric dams near the Bolivian border, and requested a meeting over the project, local media reported on Thursday.

The Brazilian government issued preliminary environmental permits earlier this week for the two plants worth $11.6 billion in the Amazon basin.

"We regret and express our annoyance because the environmental permit was issued ... before analyzing the environmental, social and economic consequences," Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca said in a letter sent to the Brazilian government and published in local newspapers.

Choquehuanca said he expects to hold a meeting with Brazilian authorities as soon as possible to discuss the issue.

Brazil is the biggest foreign investor in Bolivia, South America's poorest country, mostly through state energy firm Petrobras <PBR.N> <PETR4.SA>.

The two countries have had months of sometimes tense talks after Bolivian President Evo Morales nationalized the energy sector, forcing Petrobras to pay much higher taxes in Bolivia and Brazil to pay more for natural gas.

With a total capacity of 6,500 megawatts, the two proposed dams are seen as key to Brazil's power generation growth and economic development in the next decade.

The Jirau and San Antonio plants -- 55 miles (84 km) and 119 miles (190 km) from the Bolivian border -- would be built on the Madeira, which is a major tributary of the Amazon.

Brazilian environmental agency Ibama said this week that the consortium that wins bidding to build the plants will have to meet 33 requirements and conduct additional environmental impact studies.

It must also implement a program to control malaria in the region and adopt measures to compensate an estimated 3,000 people who will be displaced by the dams.

The first of the two hydroelectric projects is due to come on stream by 2012 or 2013.

Analysts warn Brazil is running the risk of power shortages around 2010 if there is not enough rain to refill power dam reservoirs and if the country does not expand its generation capacity.

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