Agence France Presse
November 12, 1997

BEIJING – China has dammed its third major river in a month in an effort to boost hydro-electric power capacity, the China Daily reported Wednesday.

N.B. Lancang is the Chinese name for the upper Mekong

Following the blocking of the Yellow river on October 28 and the damming of the Yangtze on November 8, Chinese engineers completed a barrage across the Lancang River on Monday.

The barrage will allow for the construction of the Dachaoshan Hydropower Station on the river, which will have an annual generation capacity of 5.9 billion kilowatt-hours by completion in 2003.

Located in southwest China’s Yunnan province, the power station is one of a series that will be built on the river to boost electrcity supplies.

“This dam symbolizes China’s new efforts in developing hydropower resources on the river,” said Yunnan governor He Zhiqiang.

But Laos, Burma, Thailand and Cambodia have all protested the plans as the Lancang becomes the Mekong as it travels south and China’s schemes will reduce the power of other projects downstream.

There were no such objections to the damming of the Yangtze, which flows exclusively through China.

The barrage completed on November 8 will lead to the construction of a massive power station with an annual capacity of 84.7 billion kilowatt-hours to supply central China.