World's largest dam completed on China's Yangtze River

[Ulhas Joglekar <joglekarulhas@xxxxxxxx>]

People's Daily Online
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UPDATED: 17:56, May 20, 2006

World's largest dam completed on China's Yangtze River
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200605/20/eng20060520_267303.html

China completed construction of the world's largest dam on Saturday in Three
Gorges area, central China's Hubei Province, signifying a milestone
accomplishment of major structure of the mammoth Three Gorges water control
project that aims to tame the flood-prone Yangtze River, the nation's
longest.

At 2:00 on Saturday afternoon, the final concrete was poured for the
2,309-meter-long, 185-meter-high main wall of the Three Gorges Dam, which by
then began to have capacity of holding water.

The concrete placement of the Dam's main section was completed 10 months
ahead of schedule, which will enable the Dam to start its role in power
generation, flood control and shipping improvement in 2008, one year ahead
of designated time.

After the cofferdam is demolished on June 6, the dam's main wall will
formally begin to hold water, protecting 15 million people and 1.5 million
hectares of farm land downstream from floodings, which had haunted the
Yangtze River valley for thousands of years. Upon the demolition, a new
landscape featuring a reservoir with a serene water surface behind the
spectacular dam will gradually come into being along with planned rises of
the water level.

The Three Gorges, which consist of Qutang, Wuxia and Xiling Gorges, extend
for about 200 km on the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze. They have
become a popular world-class tourist destination noted for beautiful natural
landscapes and a great number of historical and cultural relics. This
section of the Yangtze has a narrow river course which is inconvenient for
shipping but boasts abundant hydroelectric resources.

Pu Haiqing, deputy director of the State Council Three Gorges Project
Construction Committee, said the project manifests that a dream comes true
and the philosophical thinking and wisdom of the Chinese people in following
the law of nature and making use of it for the benefits of the people.
As China's longest and the world's third longest, the Yangtze River,
together with the Yellow River, nurtured the Chinese civilization. However,
its floodings have since long threatened lives and properties of residents
along its valley. The latest deluge happened in 1998, which claimed about
1,000 lives and incurred approximately 100 billion yuan (12.5 billion
U.S.dollars) in economic losses.

The Three Gorges project was initially envisaged in 1918 by Sun Yat-sen, the
forerunner of China's democratic revolution. It had undergone protracted
debates and researches for around half a century before it was finally
approved in 1992 by the National People's Congress, China's top legislature.
It is schemed to function in flood control, to generate clean energy and to
benefit shipping, with flood control as its major effect. Upon completion in
2008, one year ahead of the schedule, the project will help the middle and
lower reaches of the Yangtze River valley to withstand deluges that can be
seen every 100 years.

The project, the world's largest water control project, recruited 26,000
people, including professionals and specialists from 50-odd countries and
regions, at the peak of its construction. On the basis of absorption of
foreign advanced technologies, the project has set 100-plus world records.
The project, the world's largest hydroelectric project, boasts a total
electricity generating capacity of 22.4 million kilowatt, an equivalent of
the energy produced by a coal mine with an annual production capacity of 50
million tons or by an oilfield with an annual production capacity of 25
million tons of crude oil.

The project's main dam involves concrete placement of 16 million cubic
meters, smashing the 12.57-million-cu-m record set by the Itaipu Hydropower
Station on the border of Brazil and Paraguay.

Source: Xinhua

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