Step Hydro-Electric Stations Being Built on Lancang RiverThe construction of a gigantic hydro-electric project on the middle and lower reaches of the Lancang River is in full swing.The Lancang River, the fifth-largest river in China, rises in the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, flows for a total of 4,500 kilometers from Tibet to Xishuangbanna in Yunnan Province, joins the Mekong River, and then flows into the South China Sea. China plans to build eight step hydro-electric stations on the middle and lower reaches of the Lancang River, with a combined installed capacity of 15.55 million kw. At present, preparations for five stations are going smoothly. The Xiaowan Station, located at the second step of the middle and lower reaches of the river, is inviting bids and building a road leading to the construction site. The first phase of the Manwan Station was completed in 1995, at a cost of 3.7 billion yuan (about 456 million U.S. dollars). The five generating units at the station produce an average of six billion kwh of electricity annually. Construction of the Dachaoshan Station started in 1997, with funds pooled by the state, Yunnan Province and the Hongta Group, the leading tobacco conglomerate in China. Dachaoshan's first generating unit is expected to start operation next year. The feasibility study for the Jinghong Station has been completed. The governments of China and Thailand signed a letter of intent on the construction of the Jinghong Station last June. The station will provide Thailand with 1.5 million kw of electricity by 2013, and doubled that amount in the following year. |
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