China started construction work on the Yangtze River's highest
dam in the southwestern province of Sichuan on Wednesday, according
to local sources.
The dam, part of the Jinping hydropower station project, will
stand 305 meters tall and will take 83 months to complete, said
Chen Yunhua, general manager of the Sichuan Ertan Hydropower
Development Co. Ltd.
The first tier of the Jinping hydropower plant began in November
2005 at Jinping, a curve on the Yalong river, a major tributary on
the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
"The river has been dammed and other preliminary work, including
several tunnels, has been completed," Chen said.
With a budget of 24 billion yuan and a designed installed
capacity of 3.6 million kw, the plant will be able to generate
16.62 billion kwh of electricity a year when it comes on stream in
2014.
Chen said the steep terrain has made construction of the dam --
being carried out by the seventh bureau of Sinohydro Corporation --
very difficult.
The plant is part of a national strategy to transmit electricity
from the west areas to the east, and will create development
opportunities in Sichuan, Chen said.
The second tier of the Jinping hydropower plant, located 17 km
downstream, is already under construction. Its designed installed
capacity is 4.8 million kw.
Yalong River, with a length of 1,571 km, is said to boast
hydropower resources equivalent to 346.2 billion kw. Twenty
hydropower stations will be built along the waterway to exploit the
river's rich hydropower resources.
(Xinhua News Agency June 7, 2007)
