China will add an annual installed hydropower capacity of 5 million kw, on average, between 2000 and 2010, to usher in a booming decade of hydropower development.

According to the country's hydropower development plan, the country will develop a total hydropower capacity of 70 million kw by the end of this year, and by 2010 the figure will rise to 125 million kw, or 33.1 percent of the country's exploitable hydropower resources.

China is among the countries in the world that have the richest hydropower resources, with exploitable water energy resources estimated at 376 million kw, said a senior official with the China State Power Corporation (CSPC).

However, much still needs to be done to exploit these enormous hydropower resources, he said, adding that the country's total hydropower generating capacity accounts for only 13.8 percent of

the exploitable potential, a figure lower than the world's average.

The official noted that China has made remarkable achievements in developing its hydropower industry since the founding of New China in 1949, particularly since the launching of the reform and opening-up drive in 1979.

The total generating capacity and the annual electricity output have risen from 163,000 kw and 710 million kwh in 1949 to the present 52.17 million kw and 186.8 billion kwh, respectively. As a

result, China now ranks third in the world in hydropower generating capacity and production.