Briefing on the Three Gorges Project
The Yangtze River is the first longest river in China, which takes its source from the highest snowy peak, Peak Geladandong, of the Tangula Mountain Range on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The river flows 6300 km through the Southwest of China, Central China and East China to the China Sea with the annual water quantity of 1000 billion m3, crossing 11 provinces/ central-government-controlled cities/ autonomous regions. The Yangtze-River Basin is 1,820,000 km2, representing 19% of the total area of China, which abounds in natural resources and where the economy is quite developed. The Yangtze River Basin is significant for the economic growth of China. Yet there have been lots of flood disasters to the plain areas midstream and downstream of the Yangtze River in history. It is recorded in history that there were more than 210 flood disasters during more than 2000 years from the Han Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty...
The Three Gorges Project is one of the important projects in China for the long-term economic development of China. The project is significant in the economy, the environmental reservation and the social effects.
The submersion of the reservoir region of the Three Gorges Project has been related to 277 small towns, 1680 villages, 6301 groups, 2 cities, 11 counties and 116 large towns, which will be wholly or partially reconstructed. Now the recent reservoir area covers 1045 km2, of which 632 km2 is an area recently submerged, representing 1.11% of the total area of the reservoir region of the Three Gorges Project to be completed. The reservoir has impounded a 5-year flood flow.
In accordance with the Chinese standards for the projects of hydropower and water resources, the Three Gorges Project belongs to the first-class projects and the construction of its dam project also belongs to the first-class construction which requires designing on the basis of the standard for the control of a 1000-year flood with the flood flow of 98,800 m3/ s. In addition, such a standard will be increased by 10% to control a 10,000-year flood with the flood flow of 124,300 m3/ s. The earthquake-resistance standard is increased from 6o intensity up to 7o intensity.
26 x 700 MW units will be installed with the total installed capacity of 18,200 MW respectively in the left power house by the left bank and in the right power house by the right bank, that is, 14 units in the left power house and 12 units in the right power house. The Three Gorges Hydropower Station will annually have generated 84.68 billion kWh by 2009, equivalent to one seventh of the annual power generation of China.
