In March 1997, Chongqing became the fourth municipality in China to be given provincial status, after Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin. To mark the 10th anniversary of the country’s youngest municipality, Chongqing Mayor Wang Hongju spoke about the pros and cons of the Three Gorges dam at a news conference held by the State Council information office in Beijing on Feb. 27.

 

Mr. Wang cited the three biggest benefits of the dam: flood control, improved navigation and power generation. However, he hinted that Chongqing [located upstream of the dam] is not in a position to reap the flood-control benefits, which are instead shared by the regions downstream of the dam, in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

 

Improved navigation has started to play a role in developing transportation on the river, he said, while the dam has also provided electricity to the municipality, which experienced power shortages in the past two years.

 

Chongqing has also been able to inject a considerable sum of money into infrastructure projects, urban facilities and industries, by taking advantage of funding from the central government earmarked for Three Gorges resettlement schemes.

 

At the same time, the mayor revealed that he is deeply worried about environmental problems and the dearth of industry in the municipality. "I’ve lost sleep over these two issues," he said.

 

Despite some signs of improvement, the Three Gorges reservoir area still suffers from a shortage of industry. Official figures put the unemployment rate as high as 12.8 per cent in 2005; it fell slightly to 11.5 per cent the following year. The government has been trying to create jobs in the region for people who had to move to make way for the dam. As a result, by the end of last year a job in the industrial or service sector had been arranged for at least one person in each resettled household.

 

Despite steady GDP growth in the past 10 years, Chongqing faces the challenge of a widening wealth gap between urban and rural areas. The rapid growth of cities has had no impact on economic development and prosperity in the countryside, and Mr. Wang acknowledged that this issue has become one of the most worrisome for the municipal government.

 

The environment in the reservoir area is another major concern, and the mayor raised a few troubling questions:

 

• To what extent will the shipping industry be affected by the buildup of sediment at the tail end of the reservoir, particularly in Chongqing harbour?
• Will the pollution in the reservoir deteriorate after it is filled to the final height of 175 metres above sea level in 2009?
• What can be done to better protect the environment in the ecologically fragile area?