WUHAN, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- The throughput of the five-tier ship lock at the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydropower project, exceeded 100 million tonnes as of September this year, authorities said Wednesday.

Despite the suspension of the dam's northern ship lock due to maintenance between Feb. 2 and March 14, the throughput of the project's ship lock reached 100.2 million tonnes in the first nine months, an increase of 5 percent year on year, the Three Gorges Navigation Administration said.

The throughput of Gezhouba Dam on the Yangtze River also hit 102.8 million tonnes, up 7.16 percent year on year.

The Three Gorges project is a multi-functional water control system, consisting of a 2,309-meter-long and 185-meter-high dam, a five-tier ship lock and 26 hydropower turbo-generators.

The project generates electricity, controls flooding by storing excess water and helps to regulate the river's shipping capacity.

The dam was designed to reach an annual shipping capacity of 100 million tonnes by 2030, but exceeded that target in 2011, 19 years in advance.

Last year, the throughput of the dam's ship locks exceeded 130 million tonnes.