Energy

China's Three Gorges Project to be completed in five years

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-02-26 14:25

YICHANG - All construction work on the Three Gorges Project will have been completed by 2015, said a spokesman with the developer, China Three Gorges Corporation (CTGC), Friday.

An underground power station with six hydropower turbo-generators being cut beneath the mountain on the southern bank of the Yangtze River and a lift for vessels on the river's northern bank are the remaining parts to be constructed, said the spokesman.

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The multi-functional water control system, believed to be the world's largest, began construction 18 years ago.

Its main work includes a gigantic dam, a five-tier ship lock.

In addition to hydropower generation, the project is also capable of flood control and navigation.

The Three Gorges Project has had 26 hydropower turbo-generators in operation.

By its completion, the project is capable of generating 100 billion kWh electricity a year, the spokesman said. By the end of 2010, the project had generated more than 440 billion kWh of electricity since it started to generate power in 2003.