Countdown Begins for Damming Yangtze River

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, November 06, 2002

Countdown Begins for Damming Yangtze River

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The long-aspired countdown has begun for the historic damming that will cut China's longest river in half.

The man-made diversion channel, built for navigating the Yangtze River during the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, is set to be closed off on Nov. 6, according to an announcement from the China Yangtze River Three Gorges Project Development Corporation.

Following the damming of the diversion canal, the water of the tumultuous Yangtze river will have to flow through 22 diversion holes at the lower part of the main dam that has already built on the river. Each hole measures six meters wide by 8.5 meters high.

Work is still going on at the damming site, located near the city of Yichang in central China's Hubei province, but has slowed down to meet the schedule.

Standing on the embankment, some workers are even seen leaning on their shovels appreciating the scene.

The damming can proceed since two cofferdams have been completed on the canal -- one upstream built by the Gezhouba Dam Group Company and one downstream built by a police force, said specialists at the site, and the difficulty of this damming operation is "world-class".

Speaking to the press, however, Zheng Shouren, chief engineer of the Yangtze River Water Resources Committee, noted that he is fully confident of the success of the damming operation.

Damming the canal is critical for the continued construction of the 2,309-meter-long and 185-meter-high hydroelectric dam on the Yangtze River, a vital constituent of the Yangtze River Three Gorges Project, the world's biggest water-control and hydropower project.

The construction of project has aroused mixed feelings in China and around the world. On the one hand, people are reluctant to seethe world-renowned beauty of the Three Gorges disappear or get impaired. And, on the other, they highly value and treasure the much heightened security against rampant floodwaters and the prospect of huge electricity output by the project.

More than 1,000 lives were lost in a major flood in 1998, only one of the Yangtze's numerous disastrous floods. The death toll would likely continue to increase in the future if the river is left untamed.

Upon its completion in 2009, the project could offer some flood relief with its ability to divert some floodwater to the huge reservoir.

Lu Youmei, general manager of the China Yangtze River Three Gorges Project Development Corporation, said that on completion, the Three Gorges Reservoir will have a gross storage capacity of 39 billion cubic meters, including 22 billion cubic meters designated for flood-control purposes.

Completion of the project will also imply the creation of the world's largest hydropower plant with a combined capacity of 18.2 million kilowatts.

Prior to the damming, the construction site has become something of a tourist attraction, hosting travel groups, both domestic and foreign, almost everyday.

"Only the magnificent Great Wall is comparable to the grace of the gigantic Three Gorges project," said a US tourist.

As the damming date is on hand, more and more reporters have been showing up. China Central Television (CCTV) has even employed a helicopter to cover the operation.

It will be a real historic, memorable day on Wednesday, as it will witness the severing of the 6,300-km-long river that has flowed freely for hundreds of thousands of years.

Schedule set for damming

An official in charge of the Three Gorges Project on the Yangtze River, Tuesday announced a detailed schedule of the final phase of damming the diversion canal.

Cao Guangjing, deputy general manager of the China Yangtze River Three Gorges Project Development Corp., said the ceremony to complete the final phase would begin at 9:05 a.m. (Beijing Time) Wednesday, and was expected to last about half an hour to 40 minutes.

Cao said workers had nearly completed damming the canal upstream, leaving an opening less than 20 meters wide.

By 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, the river water was flowing downstream ata speed of 8,200 cubic meters per second, from last month's 10,000cubic meters per second.

The current speed was much less than engineers had expected andprepared for, making it easier than expected to dam the canal, said the deputy manager.

Successful damming would pave the way for storing water early next year for power generation by the first group of four generating units.

Shipping has been banned from the 3.5-km diversion channel built for ships during the second phase of construction of the Three Gorges Project.

Construction on the Three Gorges Project began in 1993 and 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).

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