Damming of the diversion canal at China's Three Gorges dam project on the Yangtze River has passed through its most difficult phase.
By Saturday afternoon, workers had nearly completed damming the canal upstream, leaving an opening about 35 meters wide, and a 25-meter opening downstream, according to construction sources on the project in central China's Hubei province.
The damming will be completed by Nov. 6, according to the China Yangtze Three Gorges Project Development Co.
Shipping has been banned from the man-made diversion channel built for ships during the second phase of construction of the Three Gorges project.
The 3.5-km canal is located near Yichang in Hubei where the world's largest hydropower project is being built.
Construction on the Three Gorges Project which began in 1993, is expected to be completed in 2009, when 26 power generating units with a combined capacity of 18.2 million kilowatts will go into operation. Permanent locks will accommodate ships of more than 10,000 DWT (dead weight tonnage).
( November 4, 2002)
