China expects to add an annual hydropower generating capacity of 5 million kw, on average, between2000 and 2010, to usher in a booming decade of hydropower development.

China 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 one third of the country's exploitable hydropower resources, said Jiang Shaojun, director in charge of the strategic studies and planning under the State Power Corporation.

According to the official, China is among the countries in the world that have the richest hydropower resources, with exploitable water energy resources estimated at 376 million kw.

However, much still needs to be done to exploit these enormous hydropower resources, he said, adding that the country's total hydropower generating capacity amounts for only 13.8 percent of the exploitable potential, a figure lower than the world's average.

So far, the country's annual hydropower electricity output has risen to 186.8 billion kwh, ranking third in the world in hydropower production.