Environment protection measures are high on the agenda as
China's gigantic Three Gorges dam project heads toward completion
this year, said dam builders.
According to the ongoing work conference at the year beginning
of the China Three Gorges Project Corporation, more environmental
facilities will be built this year to deal with and guard against
environmental problems in the dam area.
The facilities include the new Yingzizui water plant, Letianxi
waste water processing factory, a processing ground to handle algae
blooms and silt in dammed water and a breeding center for protected
fish species in the upper reaches of the river.
Plans have also been made to deal with cave-ins, debris slides
and other geological hazards along highways that run through the
area and to reinforce reservoir banks with more trees.
Li Yong'an, director of the corporation, told his staff that the
success of the dam would boost China's pride and world standing.
"As the world's largest hydro-power plant, the Three Gorges will
attract wide attention from the international society this year
when China rises to the center stage as Olympic host," he said.
Li urged staff to continue with the highest standards in
building, operating and managing the project. "A top-quality and
environment-friendly Three Gorges will bolster the international
image of this engineering feat, and showcase China's
accomplishments and the overall strength of the nation," he
said.
The dam, which stands at 185 meters above sea level and holds 39
billion cubic meters of water, began construction in 1994 to tame
periodic devastating floods on the Yangtze and generate clean
energy.
The 180-billion yuan project was built to reduce the threat of
floods on the Yangtze from once every 10 years to once every 100
years. The cost is still 2 million yuan less than the economic
losses incurred by the 1998 flood.
With five more sets of generators, each with a capacity of
700,000 kilowatts, the project has 31 generators which are set to
be completed in 2008. But worries resurfaced over its environment
impact, including algae blooms, landslides, trapped silts and clean
water discharge.
Wang Xiaofeng, director of the office of the Three Gorges
Project Committee of the State Council, or China's Cabinet, told
Xinhua in November that "the dam's environmental impacts had been
less damaging than feared and under control".
Latest statistics from the work conference show that the dam has
effectively relieved flood pressure and provided 3.4 billion cubic
meters of water to the lower reaches in the lean water season last
year. It handled 60 million tons of cargo last year, up 10 million
tons over 2006, and, together with Gezhouba dam, about 38
kilometers downstream, the dam has generated more than 77 billion
kilowatt hours of electricity.
(Xinhua News Agency February 19, 2008)
