Yichang: The waters of the Yangtze River [Chang Jiang] surged into the basin behind the world’s largest dam project at the Three Gorges Wednesday morning [1 May] as the cofferdam was demolished with a string of 555 explosions. The explosives took just 18 seconds to blast their way along the kilometre-long cofferdam at 9:08 a.m. As the sound of the explosions echoed, the cofferdam that was formed in 1997 finished its historical task. From now on, the Yangtze River will directly flow into the base pit of the Three Gorges. The cofferdam was just 300 meters from the Three Gorges dam. Under the protection of the cofferdam, which lies on the main riverbed, the second-phase of the Three Gorges Project has been under construction since November, 1997. According to the construction plan, three goals will be realized by 2003, including a lower water conservation gate, permanent lock gates and the first electricity generator, all of which required the demolition of the cofferdam.