(May 14, 2002) The Three Gorges Project Corp. announces that work will begin in March on the ‘gigantic’ Xiangjiaba dam on the Jinsha (upper Yangtze).

Xiangjiaba plant, one of the planned gigantic hydropower projects in south China’s Sichuan province, will start construction in March, 2006, according to sources from the China Three Gorges Project Corporation (CTGPC). The plant, situated on the Jinsha River section of the mighty Yangtze River, boasts an installed capacity of six million kw and an average annual generating capability of over 30 billion kwh. It constitutes part of China’s strategy to transfer energy from the hydropower-rich west to the electricity-thirsty east. The dam will be 909.26 meters long at the top and 161 meters tall. It is expected to help block sand and mud, and regulate the water flow during dry seasons, along with other reservoirs on the Yangtze River. The first phase of the Xiangjiaba plant will go operational in 2012, and the whole project will complete by 2015.

Xinhua, May 14, 2002