Three Gorges Project Stimulates Local Economy

Work on the Three Gorges Dam has been in progress for eight years now and the huge investments into the project has created a great demand from the market, pulling up Hubei's economic growth. The Three Gorges project's influence has rippled through cities around the Three Gorges Dam, the increase of absolute GDP value was felt in Yichang city, near the dam, before moving to cities such as Jinmen, Xiangfan, Wuhan, Huangshi and Ezhou.

There is 117.6 billion yuan invested in the Three Gorges Project. A total of 6,099 bids with contracts worth a total of 42.4 billion yuan were offered for key projects in Hubei, electrical transmission projects and family relocation programs. Hubei firms won 4,112 of those bids, winning 27.2 billion yuan or 64.29% of the total money offered in contracts. The average amount of a contract to work on the Three Gorges project for a Hubei enterprise was worth 3.4 billion. In the past eight yeas, Hubei province's average absolute GDP value increased 39.6 billion yuan. The average growth in the area's absolute GDP value in those eight years was 8.6%, the high was 18.07% and the low was a little bit more than 6.0%.

The Three Gorges construction project has made the area around the dam the fastest area of economic growth in Hubei province. Yichang city and the four counties around the reservoir have used the opportunity to support the enterprises moving there. They have attracted well-known companies such as Wahaha, Haier, Shougang, Huiyuan, and Senda, which will be the mainstay industries in the area. In addition, they have built the Jiangsu Industrial Park, Yichang Xinfahua Industrial Park and Bafeng Pharmaceutical Industrial Park. According to statistics, from 1992 to the first quarter of this year, there have been 1,344 projects supporting the dam in the Hubei reservoir area whose capital is worth 1.77 billion yuan or 38% of the state's compensation fund for displaced families.

In the year 2003, the Three Gorges projects' first batch of units will generate electricity and the project will enter its second phase. At the same time, the development of the West should facilitate the construction of the Three Gorges project and the development of the Three Gorges region. Analysts say that during the construction period, the Three Gorges project will bring four new opportunities to the economic development of the area:

1) The construction's investments and numerous projects will create a domino effect for the area's economies. According to calculations, between 2000 to 2003, the investments into the Three Gorges projects will total 42.96 billion yuan or 10.74 billion yuan per year. The recent years have been the peak of construction on the Three Gorges project.

2) It will create huge demands for steel, wood and concrete. The second phase of the project will begin in 2005. Demand for steel then, compared with the first period, will increase 239.5%, concrete 215.7% and wood 20.6%.

3) Much work will be needed to be done on the construction of the electrical generation project. To keep things on schedule, 16.24 billion yuan have been invest in electrical generators for the Three Gorges, 59% of the 27.53 billion total allotted for the Three Gorges electrical generation project. At the same time, investments in Hubei province's transformer substation project, 200 KV and other low voltage circuits reached 7.5 billion yuan.

4) It should provide a lot of electricity and help prevent flooding. The Three Gorges power station is expected to distribute 690 million kilowatts to Hubei province in 2003. In 2005 the amount of electricity distributed to Hubei should be 740 million kilowatts. In 2010, the electrical power distributed to Hubei should 18.6 billion kilowatts. It will provide enough electricity for the area's economic construction. At the same time, the flood prevention abilities of the Three Gorges reservoir will start to be apparent. When the Three Gorges project is completed in 2009, it will be able to resist floods.



People's Daily Online --- http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/