‘The Nu River proposal, already delayed for more than a year, is now unexpectedly presenting the Chinese government with a quandary of its own making: will it abide by its own laws?’

The senior official in charge of monitoring Three Gorges project quality control has said she is "really concerned" about the design of the 26 giant turbines being built for the world’s biggest dam.

‘In recent years, many problems have been discovered in big turbines made in China. More problems are expected with the Three Gorges dam,’ says the head of the project’s quality-control inspection group.

(April 10, 2002) Huaneng Power International – China’s largest independent electricity producer, run by the son of Three Gorges dam enthusiast Li Peng – has been quick to enlist in the new campaign to shore up the costly and financially troubled project on the Yangtze River.

Huaneng Power International – China’s largest independent electricity producer, run by the son of Three Gorges dam enthusiast Li Peng – has been quick to enlist in the new campaign to shore up the costly and financially troubled project.

Workers on the Three Gorges project have been told to make a concerted effort to build the dam to its final height of 185 metres by May, Xinhua reports.

On April 3, 1992, the National People’s Congress approved the Three Gorges dam. But the refusal of one-third of NPC delegates to give the project their blessing amounted to an unprecedented display of opposition from China’s ‘rubber-stamp’ parliament.

Local shipping firms are worried about economic losses they may encounter when navigation is disrupted for as long as two years because of the Three Gorges project, the Chongqing Evening News reports.