China's State Council approved at a conference on Friday the
raising of the water level in the Three Gorges Reservoir to 156
meters.
The conference was hosted by Chinese Premier Wen
Jiabao, who is also chairman of the Committee for Construction
of Three Gorges Project (CCTGP). Chinese Vice Premier and vice
chairman of the CCTGP Zeng
Peiyan, and Chinese State Councilor Hua
Jianmin also appeared at the conference.
According to the 15th conference held by the CCTGP and chaired
by Premier Wen Jiabao, the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest
hydropower project, will soon reach its target height of 185 meters
and begin to play its role in flood-control, power generation and
shipping.
Officials said at the conference that currently relocation work
for residents is progressing smoothly.
Reports said about 1.25 million people had been moved from their
homes to pave way for the giant project.
But the conference also noted that though migrant relocation,
environment protection and reservoir management around the dam
areas have been strengthened, there are still some problems to
solve in the years to come.
Chinese officials urged project operators to tighten supervision
over the project since the Dam will soon be completed.
Local officials were also required to make the relocation of
residents a priority and try to help the people solve the problems
they have encountered.
In addition, the conference encouraged local governments to
explore ways to boost economic development of the Dam area by
restructuring local economy, accelerating the improvement of
infrastructure and developing pillar industries.
To improve environmental protection around the reservoir,
Chinese officials require local governments to prevent geological
disasters and improve pollution treatment in order to ensure the
safety and cleanliness of the reservoir.
The on-going comprehensive audit of the Three Gorges Project
that started in March this year was also mentioned in the
conference and officials expressed their hope that money is used
properly and efficiently in the project.
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Launched in 1993, the Three Gorges project, including the
185-m-high dam and 26 generators on both banks of the Yangtze, is
being built in three phases on the middle reaches of the Yangtze
River, China's longest waterway.
The project is designed to control flooding on the Yangtze River
and increase China's electricity production. When the entire
project is completed in 2009, it will be able to generate 84.7
billion kwhs of electricity annually.
(Xinhua News Agency May 13, 2006)