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Three Gorges Dam Yangtze River

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Three Gorges Dam Yangtze River

Peoples Republic of China
The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River near Chongqing in Chinas central Hubei Province is the largest hydroelectric project in history, with twenty-six generators designed to deliver over 18,000 megawatts, 11 percent of the nations needs. Started in 1994 and scheduled for completion by 2014, it will provide electricity to rural provinces and facilitate flood management and improved navigation for the upper Yangtze. The controversial dam has been widely criticized within and outside China as a socially and environmentally harmful project. The 3,450-mile (5,500-kilometer) Yangtze is the worlds third-longest river. Midway on its journey from the Tibetan Plateau to the East China Sea, it passes through a 120-mile-long (193-kilometer), exquisitely beautiful stretch known as the Three Gorges the precipitous Qutang, Wuxia, and Xiling one of Chinas most scenic regions. It will be submerged through the building of the dam. The huge dam five times wider than the U.S. Hoover Dam will create a 575-foot-deep (176-meter) reservoir nearly 400 miles (640 kilometers) long and an average of 3,600 feet (1,200 meters) wide. According to official Chinese sources, the lake will completely inundate 2 cities, 11 counties, 140 towns, 326 townships, and 1,351 villages; other figures are consistently and considerably higher. About 59,000 acres (23,800 hectares) of rich agricultural land and numerous some experts say nearly 1,300 important archeological sites will be lost, and an estimated 1.98 million people will be displaced and relocated. Other critics claim the project will increase the risk of earthquakes and landslides. It will also threaten fish stocks and such endangered species as the Yangtze dolphin, the giant panda, and others. As of 2001, the published estimated cost was U.S.$27 billion; the budget has soared from U.S.$10.57 billion in 1992 to a figure that unofficial sources place around U.S.$76 billion. The dam was proposed as early as 1919 by Dr. Sun Yat Sen (Sun Yi Xian), and it was revived when the Peoples Republic of China exploded into being in 1949. Chinese and international engineers and scientists were involved in planning and design. Despite public opposition, The Three Gorges Project Feasibility Study Report emerged in May 1989 and became a major issue in the Tiananmen Square incident in June, after which Premier Li Peng, mostly for political reasons, became the schemes principal sponsor. Following more feasibility studies, in April 1992 the National Peoples Congress approved construction, but about a third of the delegates either abstained or voted against it. The project remains the focus of a political tussle, the outcome of which will shift the balance of power in Chinas Communist Party. The main parts of the Three Gorges Project are the dam, the powerhouses, and the navigation facilities. The 7,550-foot-wide (2,310-meter) concrete gravity-type dam is over 600 feet (175 meters) high; its 1,580-foot-long (483-meter) spillway is located in the middle of the original river channel, flanked by intake dam and nonoverflow dam sections. If the dam is finished, two powerhouses will be built at the toe of the intake dams, one on each side; there will be fourteen generator units in the left powerhouse and twelve in the right, connected to fifteen transmission lines to Central China, East Sichuan, and East China. The completed ship lock on the left bank will consist of two-way, five-step flight locks, through which 10,000-ton (9,100-tonne) barges will be able to pass. The one-step vertical ship lift will be able to raise a 3,000-ton (2,700-tonne) vessel. Responsibility for all aspects of the construction and the eventual management of the project is vested in the state-owned China Yangtze Three Gorges Project Development Corporation, established in September 1993. Most of the cost is being met from within China, mainly through the Three Gorges Construction Fund, loans from the State Development Bank, and power revenues from the Gezhouba Hydropower Plant and (when Phase 1 is completed in 2003) from the Three Gorges project itself. Foreign financial institutions are conservative because of the dams ecological implications; for example, the U.S. Export-Import Bank opposed the dam in May 1996, responding to recommendations of the National Security Council. They refused to guarantee loans to U.S. companies tendering for work on the dam. Some finance comes from Canada and Germany. Excavation for the dams foundations were in progress by mid-1993, and the project was formally opened in December. The Yangtze was dammed in November 1997 and diverted through a channel to drain the building site on the riverbed. A new high-way and airport were built, as well as apartment buildings for the 18,000 workers employed on the project. In January 2000 official Chinese sources claimed that the Three Gorges Dam project was on schedule, and work was accelerating. As a last word, it must be added that some engineering experts have warned about the eventual success of the project. The promised power generation, flood control, and improved navigation all depend on the Three Gorges Project Development Corporation solving the potential problem of sedimentation in the reservoir. Because of the hugeness of the dam, there is no experience on which to draw to predict the rate of sedimentation, and it may seriously reduce the projects life and effectiveness.


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