South China Morning Post
April 6, 2006

Beijing is trying to halt the flow of sediment and industrial pollution into the massive reservoir that will be created with the construction of the dam on the Yangtze River.

China will be able to solve the water pollution problems stemming from the huge Three Gorges dam project, an NPC member pledged yesterday. Qu Geping, a former chief of the State Environmental Protection Administration, said Beijing was trying to halt the flow of sediment and industrial pollution into the massive reservoir that would be created with the construction of the dam on the Yangtze River. “We are planning to deal with the pollution from the upstream areas,” he said. “We will be able to address this issue.” The controversial dam is scheduled to be completed in 2009 at a cost of US$24.65 billion (HK$192.27 billion). Critics insist the dam will trap the heavy loads of silt carried by the Yangtze and create a huge polluted lake. The anti-pollution plans include the closure of 7,000 factories along the upper reaches of the river. Other plants contributing to water pollution would have to be upgraded. Water treatment centres with a capacity to handle three million tonnes per day were being built around Chongqing. Authorities would also try to stabilise rice paddies along the river banks of the Yangtze to limit soil erosion. Speaking on the sidelines of the annual NPC session, Mr Qu said China had spent more than ever on pollution control in its last five-year plan. He put the total from the central and local governments, along with state and non-state corporations, at about 360 billion yuan (HK$338 billion). He said that could double during the current five-year plan, which runs from 2001-2005. But he said there were still problems to address. He said that 40 per cent of China’s rivers were polluted and 10 per cent were extremely polluted. Air pollution was also a serious problem. And he said tap water prices would have to be raised in the future to encourage conservation.