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An official in charge of the Three Gorges Dam resettlement program said at the International Forum on Resettlement and Social Development that 458,000 people had been resettled outside dam area by the end of 2001.
Zhang Baoxin, deputy director of the Resettlement Affairs Bureau of Three Gorges Project Construction Committee, said that the majority of these people were moved to 11 coastal provinces including east China's economically advanced Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai Municipality.
Zhang also noted that 28.7 billion yuan (3.46 billion U.S. dollars) has been spent on the construction of houses for those being displaced.
In addition, about 940 industrial and mining establishments have been moved or closed down and the construction of many highways, docks, transformer substations and communication facilities are under way.
The Three Gorges Project is the world's largest hydro dam project with the dam measuring 1,983 meters by 185 meters and 26 generating units giving a combined capacity of 18.2 million kilowatts.
Upon completion in 2009, the huge project will be capable of generating 84.7 billion kilowatts of electric power annually. Its permanent locks will allow vessels of more than 10,000 DWT (dead weight tonnage) to pass through.
(Xinhua News Agency May 15, 2002)
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