Xi congratulates Baihetan hydropower station on launch of operations

Aerial photo taken on June 28, 2021 shows Baihetan hydropower station in southwest China. Baihetan hydropower station, the world's second largest in terms of total installed capacity, was officially put into use in southwest China, with two generating units in operation on Monday. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)

BEIJING, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday sent a letter to the Baihetan hydropower station in southwest China, offering his congratulations on the launch of operations of its first two generating units.

As a major project in China's west-east power transmission program, the hydropower station is the largest and most technically difficult hydropower project under construction in the current world, said Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission.

Each generating unit of the station has a capacity of 1 million kilowatts, the largest single-unit capacity in the world, marking a major breakthrough in China's high-end equipment manufacturing, he said.

The station's builders and relevant parties have worked together to overcome difficulties and make contributions to the construction of the major national project, said Xi.

Xi expressed the hope that all builders and relevant parties would advance the station's follow-up work, and make greater contributions to achieving the country's carbon-peak and carbon-neutrality goals and promoting the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said in an instruction that solid efforts should be made to carry out the construction of quality follow-up projects in a safe manner.

Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, called for efforts to provide follow-up assistance for relocated people and strengthen the protection and restoration of the ecosystem in the reservoir area.

Vice Premier Han Zheng, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, on Monday announced the operation of the first batch of generating units of the Baihetan hydropower station during a ceremony via video link in Beijing.

The Baihetan hydropower station is located on the Jinsha River, the upper section of the Yangtze, and straddles the southwestern provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan.

With a total investment of 220 billion yuan (about 34.07 billion U.S. dollars), the station will have an installed capacity of 16 million kilowatts. It will be equipped with 16 hydro-generating units self-developed by China, each with a capacity of 1 million kilowatts.

All the generating units are scheduled to be operational in July 2022. Once all units are constructed and put into operation, the station will become the second-largest hydropower station globally in terms of installed capacity, second only to the Three Gorges Dam project.