Former Chinese Premier Li Peng has spoken out in defence of the nation’s controversial Three Gorges Dam project amid widespread criticism over its environmental and social impact.

Two years before its completion, the world’s largest dam is already changing the local weather, say scientists studying the Three Gorges Dam on China’s Yangtze River.

Improper settling of accounts and contract management have resulted in an extra 488 million yuan (about 64.2 million U.S. dollars) to the total cost of the Three Gorges hydropower project, according to the National Audit Office (NAO) on Friday.

Chinese auditors say they found no embezzlement or misappropriation of construction funds in the ongoing Three Gorges project; however, they did detect some problems and flaws in the project’s management.

Slightly higher construction costs on the Three Gorges scheme were among a minority of project weaknesses identified as being mainly due to the long build time, unclear rules and insufficiently strong internal controls, according to a report from China’s National Audit Office.

The latest 700MW turbine-generator at the Three Gorges project in China has just completed 72 hours of test runs, taking the total number of units in operation to 16.

China’s State Council has approved an additional 10 billion yuan (US$1.32 billion) in relocation money for the residents who move from the Three Gorges area, Xinhua news agency reported today.

This money will be added to the current 53.5 billion yuan of relocation fees, said the Three Gorges Project Construction Commission under the Cabinet. Up to 84 percent of the additional fees will be spent on residents in Chongqing Municipality, where most migrant residents are from.The remainder will be used for people in Hubei Province.