China’s campaign of western development has ushered in golden
opportunities for the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, as it has
been designated one of the major suppliers to the west-to-east
electricity project, one of the giant projects of the 10th
Five-Year Plan (2001-05).
The project aims to exploit the western region’s rich resources to
provide energy support not only for local economic development, but
also for that in eastern provinces. Upon completion, it will help
improve people’s livelihood by a large margin, Yang Daoxi,
assistant governor of Guangxi and head of the Guangxi Planning and
Development Commission, told the China Internet Information Center
during an exclusive interview.
Guangxi, in southwest of the country, is a multi-ethnic region,
with an area of 236,000 sq km traversed by many large rivers. The
region has abundant water resources with a potential power
generation capacity of 17 million kw. For example, by the Hongshui
River stands a large terraced water power plant, which now
generates 4 million kw per year. In addition, Guangxi will exploit
its natural gas for power generation.
During the 10th Five-Year Plan period, Guangxi will complete a
power installation of 9 million kw, generate 3 million kw and
provide 1.5-2 million kw to its eastern neighbor, Guangdong
Province, where power generation has lagged far behind economic and
social development.
To
achieve the goal, construction will start in 2001 on four major
power stations in Guangxi: Longtan Power Station, second only to
the Three-Gorge Project in terms of installation capacity, Baise,
Etan and Pingban power stations. It is unprecedented for this
relatively poor region to begin the construction of four large
hydropower stations within one year.
Yang said that, so far, construction funds had been guaranteed from
three major channels including central government treasury bonds
for western development, favorable bank loans, and funds raised
from related local sectors.
Through the project, Guangxi can make full of its advantageous
water resources, help local residents escape from poverty and
increase their income, fuel local economic growth, and increase
government revenue. It will also improve the local ecological
environment, building up its anti-flood capacity, and improve
irrigation.
Yang said that the project not only benefits the western region,
but also provides clean energy for other parts of China, like
Guangdong. With low generation cost, many enterprises in Guangdong
will see their production costs fall. It will also boost regional
economic development and cooperation since Guangxi links east and
west.
Yang said attention was being paid not only to the project’s
construction, but also to its administration, as Guangxi would
employ updated technology and adopt the modern corporate management
system for its long-term development.
(CIIC by Guo Xiaohong 03/07/2001)