(February 20, 2006) Construction workers on Wednesday started to dismantle the remaining part of the second-phase Three Gorges cofferdam, as the average height of the dam of the world’s largest hydro-power project on the Yangtze River is above 140 meters.

Construction workers on Wednesday started to dismantle the remaining part of the second-phase Three Gorges cofferdam, as the average height of the dam of the world’s largest hydro-power project on the Yangtze River is above 140 meters. The height has reached the designated level required by the damming in 2003, when the reservoir starts to hold water.

Cofferdam built to shield dam frame The cofferdam built in 1997 to shield the construction of the main frame of the dam consists of two parts. The one located 200-450 meters upper the river of the Three Gorges dam is 1,439 meters long and 88.5 meters high. It was dismantled in November last year. Dismantling of the lower river cofferdam some 400-600 meters away from the dam began today. It is 1,075 meters long and 81.5 meters high. The China Gezhouba Group Co. Ltd. assembled all of excavating machines for the dismantling. The total project requires about eight million cubic meters of earthwork with over 3.4 million cubic meters of under water excavation. The project, costing 240 million yuan (about 28.8 million U.S. dollars is scheduled to be completed by June, 2002. The rocks and earth will be reused in the reservoir construction. The Three Gorges Project launched in 1993, will be completed in 2009, and will provide a permanent ship lock, electricity generation, and water storage.

People’s Daily, February 20, 2006