01/17 15:15 KK: ◎三峡ダムで国際入札実施へ 中国の大型プロジェクト
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共同通信経済ニュース速報
【北京１６日ＡＰ・ＤＪ＝共同】１６日の新華社電によると、中国長江三峡工程開発総公司は今年、四川省の三峡付近を流れる長江の三峡ダム建設工事のうち、船舶通航用の水路と閘門（こうもん）、発電用ダムなどの国際入札を行う。賀添・総公司副総経理が明らかにした。
賀副総経理によると、プロジェクトは総工費９００億元、工期１７年。２年間の準備作業を経て昨年１２月１４日に正式着工した。今年は航行施設工事や主要部分の掘削とコンクリート注入が行われる。 （了）
[1995-01-17-15:15]
Copyright, 1995. The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
EDITOR'S NOTE -- As construction begins on China's massive Three Gorges
dam on the Yangtze River, which will innundate more than 400 square miles
of land, archaeologists are racing the clock to salvage priceless historical
relics. Some say important clues to the development of Chinese civilization
will be lost forever.
By CHARLENE L. FU Associated Press Writer BEIJING (AP) -- Millions of ancient
artifacts, evidence of 2 million years of human development in China, are
destined to be submerged by the world's largest hydroelectric dam. The
artifacts include one-of-a-kind "drought stone" markers, bones
of prehistoric man and Stone Age utensils. Already, archaeologists are
toiling in the shadow of bulldozers along the banks of the Yangtze River,
trying to salvage some of the relics before they are covered by dam water.
Construction of the controversial 610-foot dam formally started in December
and is due to be finished in the year 2009. The project will submerge the
river's famed Three Gorges in central China, breathtaking cliffs that have
been eulogized through the centuries by Chinese poets and artists. To the
Chinese, the gorges are as potent a symbol of China as the Great Wall.
An unusually large number of negative votes and abstentions when China's
legislature approved the project in 1992 reflected the controversy surrounding
the huge project.
In addition to wiping out historic sites, critics say the massive dam is
vulnerable to earthquakes, will aggravate flooding and will damage the
ecology, jeopardizing rare plant and animal life. Advocates say it will
generate 84.7 billion kilowatt-hours annually of desperately needed electricity,
control flooding, expand water supplies and raise the river level so that
sea vessels can navigate it into landlocked inland China. Although the
dam's merits and drawbacks have been quietly debated for several years,
what has only recently begun getting attention is the cultural cost of
the project: flooding of historical sites from ancient China's colorful
history and the loss of invaluable relics that could hold clues to the
development of Chinese civilization.
To a lesser extent, the same destruction is occurring at construction sites
all over China. Because of the scarcity of land suitable for habitation,
settlements through the centuries have been established one on top of another.
In the building craze that has accompanied China's economic boom, bulldozers
frequently unearth -- and in many cases destroy -- archaeological finds.
On the Yangtze River, construction of the Three Gorges dam will affect
a 360-mile stretch of the waterway, flooding 418 square miles of land and
more than 800 historical and archaeological sites. In addition, nearly
400 ancient structures and stone tablets must be relocated. The scale of
the archaeological impact has been likened to that of the Aswan Dam on
the Nile River, which flooded relics from thousands of years of Egyptian
civilization. Aside from the sheer number of artifacts that may be lost
from the Three Gorges area is the concern that the lost relics could hold
clues to a new understanding of civilization or of a particular culture.
"This flooding will inevitably destroy an important link in understanding
China's civilizational heritage," says John Olsen, a specialist in
Chinese archaeology at the University of Arizona. The conventional wisdom
has been that Chinese civilization began along the banks of the Yellow
River, to the north of the Yangtze. Archaeologists and historians now believe,
however, that the Yangtze also was a cradle of development. In 1985, the
teeth and lower jaw of a prehistoric man believed to have lived 2 million
years ago was discovered near the area that will be flooded. Experts are
still searching for a skull, the conclusive evidence that such a being
existed. The Three Gorges flooding would significantly reduce the area
available for the search.
"There is the possibility of a very spectacular discovery that upsets
the applecart," says Robert Thorp, a specialist in Chinese archaeology
at Washington University in St. Louis. "The greatest problem that
this thing creates is that it will cut an area out of the map. It will
be extremely difficult to go back and dig again 10 years later." Many
of the endangered historical sites are linked to centuries-old legends
that are known to every Chinese schoolchild. They include the residence
of the imperial concubine Wang Zhaojun, who lived 2,000 years ago and is
considered one of the four most beautiful women in Chinese history. She
was given as a gift to a rival barbarian ruler, thus securing peace for
60 years. They also include Baidicheng, where legendary heroes from the
Three Kingdoms period from 280 B.C to 220 B.C. fought a pitched battle
and from where China's famous poets penned the most evocative lines of
poetry.
Among the most unique historical relics are "drought stone" markers
in the Yangtze riverbed. When the stones emerged during times of drought,
local people carved the dates on them. The largest is 660 feet long and
bears the dates of 320 droughts. The oldest dates back to 764 B.C. When
officials started to resettle residents of a village that would be flooded,
they thought they had found the perfect site: an open, uninhabited area
on the opposite bank. Only when the villagers started digging foundations
for new homes did anyone realize that it was an ancient graveyard from
at least 2,000 years ago. "Now we know, wherever the land is level
and uncultivated, there's a Han dynasty gravesite," says Qian Weichang,
who has helped lead the move to protect the endangered sites.
An early opponent of the dam project, the 82-year-old vice chairman of
a largely powerless government body of non-Communist Party members has
turned his attention to saving the relics. He organized 40 Chinese experts,
scholars and reporters to visit the area in late 1993 to bring attention
to the issue. The delegation has submitted a proposal to the government
to partially excavate at least 10 percent to 30 percent of the sites. Forty
of the most important should be fully excavated and museums built to house
their contents,
Qian says. "There are simply too many artifacts," adds Qian,
a lifelong history buff. "We can only save the most important sites.
We can't save them all." Compounding the problem is a lack of time
and money. The archaeologists have about 10 years, and the salvage work
will cost an estimated $590 million. But in cash-strapped China, where
80 million people still live in dire poverty, the government can spare
little money. The crisis may force the Chinese government to change its
policy of limiting foreign involvement in archaeological digs.
Chinese still bristle when they recall the foreign plundering of their
national treasures in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and are wary
of letting foreigners have too much access to them again. But some are
now calling for an international effort to save the Three Gorges relics.
"After all, this is the common cultural legacy of all mankind,"
said an article in the official Wen Hui Bao of Shanghai. "If one nation
or people have difficulties protecting them, it is not only logical but
necessary to ask for a helping hand."
End Adv Sunday Jan. 29
Copyright, 1995 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The following news report
may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the
prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
BEIJING, Feb 12 (Reuter) - China needs to raise nearly $10 billion from
bonds and shares in financial markets to finance the Three Gorges Dam,
its biggest engineering project since the Great Wall, the China Daily said
on Sunday. It said half the project's total cost of 164 billion yuan ($19.5
billion) will be raised from a national levy on the cost of electricity
as well as profits from the giant Gezhouba dam, the largest on the Yangtze
river and in operation since 1986.
The balance will be raised from bonds and shares, it said, but gave no
detailed breakdown. Earlier, officials said China planned to raise $3 billion
of the total construction costs in foreign funds, with the first bonds
possibly being issued as early as this spring.
Premier Li Peng broke the ground at the site near Yichang in central Hubei
province in December for the 185-metre (606-foot) high dam, part of the
world's largest water control project. During the 14-year construction
period more than 100,000 people will be employed at the site, the paper
said.
REUTER
Copyright, 1995. The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
By ELAINE KURTENBACH Associated Press Writer BEIJING (AP) -- A human rights
group appealed to foreign investors Tuesday to boycott a project to build
a giant dam across the Yangtze River unless China guarantees the rights
of 1 million people who will be forced from their homes. Construction began
in December on the Three Gorges Dam 30 miles west of the central city of
Yichang. It is to be completed in 2009. China's leaders have declared the
dam a "sacred task," one that will not only provide a much-needed
source of electricity but contribute as well to the nation's economic development.
They recently launched an effort to win overseas financing for $3 billion
of the project's total cost of $90 billion.
Environmentalists have said the dam, which will submerge the beautiful
Yangtze cliffs immortalized by Chinese paintings and poetry, will worsen
flooding and destroy rare plants and animals. On Tuesday the independent
international group Human Rights Watch-Asia said the project will entail
a huge human cost as well. "Public scrutiny and government accountability
are urgently required," the group said in a report Tuesday. "In
their absence, the Three Gorges dam will simply stand, like the Great Wall,
as the ultimate symbol of the power and authority of a repressive state."
Government plans to move more than 1 million people from the Yangtze's
fertile river valleys to overcrowded and impoverished highlands have already
caused unrest, the report said. The report accused police of draconian
measures to suppress opposition and said the government was using forced
labor in the dam's construction. The report pointed to dam disasters in
the 1970s as evidence the government does not take the safety of such projects
seriously. Worst were the collapses in August 1975 of the Banqiao and Shimantan
dams in central Henan province, which killed between 86,000 and 230,000
people.
Government officials say the safety of the 610-foot-high dam, which when
completed will be the largest concrete structure on earth, has been thoroughly
investigated. "Everything in the world has both positive and negative
factors or influences, not to mention the Three Gorges Project, which is
such a big project," Wei Tingcheng, a senior engineer, recently told
the Chinese-backed Hong Kong newspaper Ta Kung Pao. "Our policy decision
is made on a scientific basis, which reflects the fundamental interests
of the people."
Copyright, 1995 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The following news report
may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the
prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
BEIJING, Feb 21 (Reuter) - The lowest water levels in more than a century
have stranded 200 ships along a 20-km (12 mile) stretch of the Yangtze
River in China's central Hubei province, official media said on Tuesday.
Ships carrying passengers, timber, fertiliser and 100,000 tonnes of coal
have been delayed for 10 days and factories along the Yangtze are suffering
heavy losses, the Economic Information Daily said.
The depth of the river between Shishou and Jianli, west of the provincial
capital, Wuhan, has fallen from 2.9 metres (9.5 feet) 2.6 metres (8.5 feet)
and 200 ships have been forced to drop anchor, it said. The river bed has
risen because more than 100 million cubic metres (3.5 billion cubic feet)
of silt were deposited along a section of river near Shishou last June.
River flow had not been strong enough to wash the silt away, it said.
Yangtze transport officials could not be reached for comment but one official
in Wuhan said riverboat dwellers were being mobilised to clear the silt
with dredgers. The provincial government had sent eight dredgers to scoop
out the river bed and large-scale operations to protect river banks have
been organised, the Xinhua news agency said. The affected river section
is in the lower part of the site of the Three Gorges Dam, a huge power
project launched at the end of last year. China has denied that silting
will affect the efficacy of the dam.
時事通信ニュース速報 【ＲＰ＝時事】二十二日の英ＢＢＣ放送によると、ニューヨークに本部を置く人権擁護団体「人権ウオッチ・アジア」は、中国が計画している世界最大の水力発電施設、三峡ダム建設に投資しないよう外国投資家に呼びかける報告書を発表した。
同報告書は、百万人以上の中国住民が三峡プロジェクトのために強制移住を余儀なくされると指摘し、中国当局が住民の権利を保証しない限り、外国投資家は出資すべきではないと主張している。
[1995-02-22-16:48]
Copyright, 1995 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The following news report
may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the
prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
BEIJING, March 6 (Reuter) - Chinese lawmakers complained on Monday about
mismanagement of public works that led to costly shipping disruptions on
the mighty Yangtze river, the official Xinhua news agency said. National
People's Congress delegates from Sichuan province said Yangtze shipping
could face further interruptions during what one called the "17 long
years" needed to build the huge Three Gorges dam and hydropower project,
Xinhua reported. Delegate Wang Jialing, a veteran steamer captain from
Yangtze Shipping Company in the riverbank city of Chongqing in Sichuan
province, urged the communist-run parliament to order urgent measures to
improve Yangtze navigation, Xinhua said.
Wang told a group meeting that siltation caused in part by poor management
interrupted navigation for more than 20 days this year, causing what she
called "big economic losses." Some 200 stranded ships finally
floated free two weeks ago after dredgers battling the lowest waters on
the Yangtze in a century cleared a 20-km (12-mile) navigation channel through
the muddy riverbed in Hubei province.
"The disruption of the shipping route was due to both natural and
human factors," Wang was quoted as saying. Xinhua gave no details
of the management errors. "I have worked for nearly 20 years on ships
plying the Yangtze river," Wang said. "I felt most uneasy when
I saw many passengers and boats of goods being laid up."
The Three Gorges project, championed by Premier Li Peng, was finally approved
by the National People's Congress in 1992 after 50 years of controversy.
One-third of delegates to the usually docile "rubberstamp" parliament
abstained or opposed the world's biggest public works project -- an unprecedented
degree of legislative dissent. About half of the 6,300 km (3,900 miles)
Yangtze is navigable and dam proponents say the project will increase the
river's shipping capacity and the size of vessels it can accommodate. Three
Gorges site preparation began in late 1994.
REUTER
Copyright, 1995 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The following news report
may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the
prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
BEIJING, March 25 (Reuter) - China has begun dredging its mighty Yangtze
river after heavy silting beached traffic along one of the world's longest
and busiest waterways for the second time this year, the China Daily said.
Local authorities are using various methods, including explosives, to dredge
a blocked channel in the middle reaches of the river in central Hubei province,
the newspaper said.
The Ministry of Communications had mapped out a plan to dredge shoals of
many of China's major river navigation channels as accumulations of silt
threatened traffic, ministry official Ji Ruimin told the China Daily. Silt
began clogging the river between Shishou and Jianli, west of the provincial
capital of Wuhan, when the Yangtze shifted its course after heavy rains
last June and slow water flows increased silt deposits.
Last month, more than 200 vessels were grounded for 20 days by the lowest
waters along the Yangtze in over a century. The silting occurred again
this month, the newspaper said, but did not say how many ships had been
affected. Legislators complained at this month's session of parliament,
the National People's Congress, that the disruption was due partly to mismanagement
and had caused heavy economic losses.
About half the 6,300-km (3,900 mile) Yangtze is navigable and supporters
say the huge Three Gorges dam and hydropower project across the river will
increase the river's shipping capcity and the size of vessels it can accommodate.
The Yangtze is only one of many rivers in China with navigation problems,
Ji said. "Most navigation channels and facilities urgently need renovation
and maintenance," the China Daily said.
The river shipping industry handles more than 10 percent of China's total
volume of transport but has seen a decline in recent years due to lack
of funding and poor management, it said. Critics say the government sets
aside only 600-700 million yuan ($71-83 million) for river repairs and
upkeep each year, many times less than expenditure on railway and road
construction, and demanded more money for waterways.
REUTER
Copyright, 1995 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The following news report
may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the
prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
BEIJING, June 22 (Reuter) - China will import mining machinery, transport
equipment, building materials and non-ferrous metals from Russia and eastern
Europe to help build its giant Three Gorges dam, the Xinhua news agency
said.
Developers of the dam have decided to set up a 15,000 square metre trading
centre in Dongning county in the far northeast province of Heilongjiang,
just 164 km from the nearest Russian port, it quoted Zhang Guangwu, marketing
director of the China Three Gorges Economic Development Corp, as saying.
The trading centre will include a 2,000 square metre import section where
Copyright, 1995. The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
By The Associated Press The equivalent of nearly $1 billion already has
been spent on the Three Gorges Dam, all from domestic sources. Officials
acknowledge that costs are climbing, and that the $27 billion price tag
is only an estimate. China plans to raise 25 percent of the funds for the
dam in international financial markets.
Earlier this year China decided not to sell any bonds for the project this
year. They may be issued in the future, said Yuan Guolin, vice president
of the China Yangtze Three Gorges Project. China is not asking for loans
from the World Bank, which would bring international scrutiny. "If
the World Bank gives us a loan we are very willing to use it. But it must
not add conditions that would require us to change the design, or impose
harsh terms about environmental protection," said Yuan.
Copyright, 1995. The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
By The Associated Press
People have argued against the Three Gorges Dam ever since it was proposed
in 1919. But their strength today is hard to measure because they have
not been allowed to air their views since the last round of open debate,
in 1989. Journalist Dai Qing, who edited a book of anti-dam articles that
appeared in 1989, was imprisoned for 10 months.
The dam was approved by China's legislature in 1992. But nearly one-third
of its usually compliant members voted against it or abstained. After a
year of preliminary work and seven months of night-and-day labor, the giant
dam is probably too far along to be scrapped. It also has powerful backing
as the pet project of Premier Li Peng.
But some analysts say it could still be scaled down if a power reshuffle
in China following the death of senior leader Deng Xiaoping put some dam
opponents in higher positions of power. Chinese officials in charge of
the project insist it will be built exactly as planned. They argue it is
an important way for the country to protect millions of people from floods
and boost energy production.
Copyright, 1995. The Associated Press. All rights reserved. By The Associated
Press
About 15,000 people are working on the Three Gorges Dam and a highway leading
to the construction site. The number is expected to climb to 20,000 when
construction hits a peak in 1997. Completion is scheduled for 2009.
Along the new highway, workers chisel rock by hand, carry buckets of cement
on shoulder poles and use trowels to mortar rock retaining walls. Building
the dam itself, however, will require skilled labor using heavy machinery,
project engineers say. Already, 45 million cubic yards of earth and stone
have been excavated.
Human Rights Watch-Asia warned in a report earlier this year that Hubei,
where the dam is being built, and neighboring Sichuan, where part of the
reservoir will lie, contain religious and political prisoners in labor
camps. The rights group said prospective foreign lenders should investigate
on their own to avoid dealing with the penal system.
Yuan Guolin, vice president of the state-run China Yangtze Three Gorges
Project Development Corp., says labor will be supplied by companies that
successfully bid for contracts based on international standards. He said
no prison labor or prison-made material will be used. "We're using
materials from the top companies in China," he said. "Companies
using prison labor can't produce that quality."
Copyright, 1995. The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
By RENEE SCHOOF Associated Press Writer YICHANG, China (AP) -- The goddess
who guards Witches Gorge is a rock that is supposed to look like the figure
of a kneeling maiden from aboard the tour boats on the Yangtze River, 3,000
feet below. Part of the fun of the trip through the black-streaked walls
of the Three Gorges -- Qutang, Wu (Witches) and Xiling -- is trying to
make out rock formations with names like "Rhinoceros Looking at the
Moon." Tourists rush out of the karaoke bar to a small deck carpeted
with plastic grass for a good view of Goddess Peak for luck.
"They say that when the Three Gorges Dam is built, the water will
rise so much you'll be able to reach out and touch her face," says
a young tourist from Shenzhen. He laughs. The water here will rise less
than 150 feet. Near the huge dam the cliffs will be inundated by some 300
feet of water if the hydroelectric project -- the biggest in the world
-- is built as planned by 2009.
Since most of the black-streaked, sheer rock walls are around 3,000 feet
tall, much of their dramatic height will remain. Still, tour boat companies
are doing booming business with "Farewell to the Gorges" tours.
A recent article in the Workers Daily claimed poorly equipped tour boats,
high rates of theft and inflated prices at temples and other tourist stops
along the way were keeping tourists away. Tian Yanlong, director of tourism
in Yichang, near the dam, acknowledged problems with poor management of
the boats and lack of hotel rooms.
But he said tourism has been growing about 20 percent a year -- with nearly
4 million people visiting by tour boats or passenger ferries last year.
Foreign tourists are a small percentage, but expected to grow to 150,000
by 1997, after Yichang gets an international airport. The official newspapers
say more than 60 tour boats now take tourists down the river, compared
with 10 boats five years ago. Each travels in a wake of garbage left by
the others. Zhang Changhai, a police officer, patrols a tour boat every
night from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. watching for small boats carrying thieves.
"There aren't many knives and guns, but we do have a lot of theft,"
he said. Zhang is helped by another officer and the boat's four security
workers. Safety is another problem. Many of the big tour boats stop at
the Little Three Gorges on a tributary, the Daning River, so tourists can
take a side trip on motor boats that seat several dozen people. On some
of these boats, life jackets are available only for the four crewmen --
two handling the motor and two who guide through rapids with long, steel-tipped
poles.
On another tributary, the Shennong Creek, eight Taiwanese tourists and
three boatmen were killed when a small wooden boat overturned in April.
Chinese tourists are drawn by the beauty and the legends of the place,
including some battles and adventures collected in the epic "Romance
of the Three Kingdoms." The gorges also have inspired hundreds of
poems. "It's not China's most scenic spot, but still beautiful,"
said Tang Fuyuan, a Shanghai banker who hopes to return after the dam is
built.
Before the waters rise, two temples will be moved. Afterward, access to
some sites will be improved. Baidi Cheng (White Emperor City), now reached
by 800 stair steps, will become an island with the water conveniently reaching
just to the edge of its temples and pavilions.
Copyright, 1995. The Associated Press. All rights reserved. By RENEE SCHOOF
Associated Press Writer YICHANG, China (AP) --
Two years ago, Li Kaijin and his family grew oranges on a farm beside the
Yangtze River. Then the bulldozers arrived to start building the world's
largest hydroelectric project. Where the family lived in a whitewashed,
mud-brick house is a dusty crater echoing with the distant thump and roar
of earth movers building the ship locks of the Three Gorges Dam. Across
the brown river, workers pour cement for a diversion channel that is almost
complete.
The Li family was among the ople from the threat of floods by China's mightiest
river, and produce 84.7 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, or
one-ninth current national consumption. Critics have long argued that the
dam will do more harm than good, in terms of its drain on the national
budget, social dislocations and environmental damage in one of China's
most scenic areas. But no public debate has been allowed since the legislature
approved the dam in 1992, when about one in every three lawmakers in the
normally complaint assembly voted no. China does not permit criticism of
major state-owned projects -- particularly not the pet project of Premier
Li Peng.
The beautiful Three Gorges, buff-colored and black-streaked rock walls
that rise 3,000 feet above the water, will have up to 300 feet covered
by rising water. If built as planned, the 1 1/2-mile-long, 600-foot-high
dam will be completed by 2009 and change the flow of the Yangtze. Eight
red Chinese characters, each a separate billboard the size of a basketball
court on the southern bank, proclaim the plan: "Build up the Three
Gorges, Develop the Yangtze River."
The government's latest cost estimate is $27 billion. It plans to try to
raise $5 billion in foreign loans. Forty percent of the dam costs -- some
$10 billion -- is earmarked for building new farms, factories, towns and
houses. More than 1,000 factories and the best farm land in the region
will be inundated by a 400-mile-long reservoir, stretching from the dam
25 miles west of Yichang, in central Hubei province, to Chongqing, in Sichuan.
"The government doesn't want to cause trouble," said Yuan Guolin,
vice president of the state-owned China Yangtze Three Gorges Project Development
Corp. "We want the move to go smoothly, so people's lives will be
better." Li Kaijin and about 100 neighbors left their homes in 1993
and resettled in Yanjiahe, a village outside Yichang that consists of new
tiled apartment buildings and two factories alongside a highway and high-voltage
power lines. "Some were hesitant at first, and some grumbled about
the compensation, but it's hard to satisfy everybody," said Li, 32.
His home is a four-room apartment with cement floors and brightly painted
walls on the ground floor of a new three-story building. His brother and
family and his father -- who also lived in the old farm house with its
view of the river, orange and chestnut trees and a pine forest -- now live
upstairs.
More than 1 million people will be moved over the next decade. Human Rights
Watch-Asia said in a report this year that most will be resettled on infertile
and overpopulated hill slopes above their old homes. Some 3 million of
the 10 million Chinese moved to make way for dams since the Communists
took power in 1949 still live in extreme poverty. Yuan contends the Three
Gorges project will be different. In addition to lump-sum compensation
to individuals, the central government is giving money to local governments
to invest in new fields, orchards and factories. City dwellers are to be
moved to new cities on higher ground or transferred to new jobs in distant
provinces and cities.
Officials have said relocation will be the hardst part of building the
Three Gorges Dam. Another big concern, according to Yuan, is sedimentation.
Critics have said silt will rapidly fill the reservoir and make it useless.
Yuan said the gates of the dam could be opened in summer to let muddy water
out. The extra flow of water would not greatly undercut the dam's ability
to prevent floods, generate electricity and raise the river level to allow
10,000-ton vessels to reach Chongqing, he said.
Environmentalists say the dam will not work as well as promised. For example,
they say it will not be able to completely prevent floods downstream because
it will not control the Yangtze's tributaries. They also warn the dam could
mean extinction for endangered species downstream and various types of
migratory fish, including the Chinese sturgeon. Water pollution from industrial
Chongqing will concentrate in the reservoir instead of being flushed downriver,
they add.
The United States stopped giving technical assistance on the project in
1993 because of its environmental impact and doubts about whether it would
be cost-effective, said Daniel Beard, commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation. "All the components are larger than anything anybody
has ever tried," Beard said. "From a technical standpoint, it's
going to be an extremely difficult project." Yuan said he has traveled
overseas and heard the concerns of critics. But he said after more than
50 years of research, Chinese engineers are convinced that the dam will
work and that benefits will outweigh losses.
Hopes are high in towns in the gorges that the project will mean prosperity.
"It will speed up development. No one will oppose it," said Zhang
Qi, 20, as he counted money at his sister's small restaurant in Fengdu,
a tourist stop in the gorges known as the "City of Ghosts" for
its hilltop temples to the gods of the underworld. Bigger tour boats will
be able to navigate the river, bringing more tourists, said Li Shicai,
a souvenir seller. Li, the farmer who moved from the dam site, figures
his family is only slightly better off since they left. He and his wife
earn more from their jobs in a car parts factory, but must pay much more
for food now that they do not grow it. Li still feels pulled by land that
is no longer there. His great-grandparents lived on the old farm. His mother
was buried there. "I go back there to take a look sometimes,"
he says. "It's all mud, but I can still find my way."
End Adv for Sunday July 16
Copyright, 1995. The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
BEIJING (AP) -- The Yangtze River is receding after weeks of flooding that
killed nearly 1,200 people and ruined 2.7 million acres of farmland, the
official Xinhua news agency reported Tuesday. Waters along the river's
middle and lower reaches, however, are still above the flood-warning level,
in some places by nearly 6 feet, Xinhua said, citing the State Flood and
Drought Control Headquarters.
Among those killed were 34 people who died when a dam in south-central
Hubei province collapsed July 11, the Economic Daily reported. It said
210 buildings were destroyed and 196 people left homeless. In southwestern
Hubei, the Huangguang dike held despite the heaviest flooding in 41 years,
the official English-language China Daily reported. Officials mobilized
a million people to shore up the dike and other flood-prevention projects,
the newspaper said. "Our principle is to live or die with the dike,"
Liu Shusheng, Huangmei county magistrate, told the newspaper. Had the dike
burst, the lives of 2 million people would have been at risk, as well as
large areas of farmland and two main rail lines, he said. Water levels
are also falling in Dongting, Boyang and Taihu lakes, Xinhua said. All
three are major drainage points for the Yangtze, China's longest river,
and are located in heavily farmed, densely populated areas.
Copyright, 1995 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The following news report
may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the
prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
BEIJING, Aug 11 (Reuter) - China has approved 34 ships out of 54 inspected
by officials to sail tourists through the spectacular Three Gorges on the
Yangtze River, Xinhua news agency said on Friday. The Ministry of Communications
and the National Tourism Administration announced that 15 tourism enterprises
and 34 ships were the first to qualify to ferry overseas tourists through
the gorges.
The move was part of a drive to regulate tourism through the gorges where
tour operators are scrambling for business before the scenic region will
be flooded early next century by a huge reservoir that will rise behind
the Three Gorges dam. Last April, a ferry capsized in the Three Gorges,
pitching a group of Taiwan tourists into the mighty Yangtze river and drowning
eight along with three Chinese boatment who tried to save them. Officials
have inspected 28 shipping companies and 59 cruise ships, Xinhua said.
REUTER
Copyright, 1995 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The following news report
may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the
prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
WASHINGTON, Aug 23 (Reuter) - The World Bank said on Wednesday it approved
a $400 million loan to help China build a huge dam in its southwestern
Sichuan province to supply electricity to some 120 million people. The
controversial loan -- and a $150 million World Bank guarantee for commercial
financing for the project -- got the go-ahead despite opposition from U.S.
lawmakers who wanted it delayed because of alleged human rights abuses
by China, including the recent arrest of activist Harry Wu.
The Clinton administration abstained in the vote on the loan, but other
nations on the bank's board supported it. The international lending organisation
has already lent $380 million to the nearly $3 billion Etran II hydroelectric
project on the Yalong River.
"This is more than just building a dam and generating power,"
World Bank task manager Noureddine Berrah said. "Increased power generation
will be a stimulant for (economic) growth ... changing the life of millions
by giving them access to the basic(s) ... we take for granted."
Some 35,000 people will be displaced by the dam and will be relocated under
the project. The bank said village committees have played a role in mapping
out
共同通信ニュース速報
【北京１８日共同】日中経済協会の訪中団（団長・河合良一コマツ相談役）は十八日、中国の経済政策全般を担当する国家計画委員会と全体会議を開き、中国が現在策定中の第九次五カ年計画について協議した。 訪中
団の最高顧問として参加している経団連の豊田章一郎会長は中国が長江（揚子江）で建設中の三峡ダムについて「日本も経済界挙げて協力したい」と述べ、経済界として初めて協力する方針を表明した。
同ダムは長江中流の湖北省宜昌市に昨年十二月着工、二〇〇九年に完成の予定で、最終的な総工費は約三兆円に上るといわれる大プロジェクト。昨年、豊田会長が李鵬首相と会談した際、李首相から「ダム建設への国際協力に日本も一員として参加してほしい」と求められていた。
全体会議の冒頭、訪中団の河合団長は「中国が進めているインフレ抑制策の効果や国有企業の改革などについての実情をお聞きしたい」とあいさつ。国家計画委の王春正副主任（閣僚級）が「来年から第九次五カ年計画が始まるこの時期に話し合いができるのは非常によいタイミング。日中の経済貿易交流を大いに促進したい」と強調した。
[1995-09-18-13:05]
Copyright, 1995 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The following news report
may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the
prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
WASHINGTON, Oct 13 (Reuter) - The United States should not offer commercial
assistance to a huge dam project in China because of environmental concerns,
the White House said on Friday. "We've concluded that the United States
government should not offer commercial assistance to the Three Gorges project
because of environmental concerns related to the project," White House
spokesman Mike McCurry said at a briefing.
The White House National Security Council sent a Sept. 22 memo opposing
U.S. commercial aid for the multi-billion-dollar project to Kenneth Brody,
chairman and president of the U.S. Export-Import Bank, U.S. officials confirmed.
McCurry said the stance was part of a consistent U.S. policy on such projects
and noted it did not prohibit private sector involvement in Three Gorges,
a huge dam on the Yangtse River. While the memo reflects the position of
the National Security Council, it is not binding and the final decision
rests with the board of directors of the Export-Import Bank, a U.S. official
said.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also voiced concerns
that any involvement in Three Gorges would be tied up in protracted litigation.
That, in addition to worries about environmental impact, "makes a
decision to go forward unadvisable," the official said. The official
denied the decision would strain ties between Washington and Beijing. "We're
in a position to explain our position to the Chinese ... We don't see it
as a reason for strain in the relationship," the official said.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown is travelling to China next week for
meetings with his Chinese counterpart, and President Bill Clinton is to
hold talks with Chinese President Jiang Zemin in New York on Oct. 24. U.S.-China
trade relations have been plagued by disputes, most notably the U.S. charge
of Chinese piracy of American movies, recorded music and other media products.
Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Lee Sands has been in China
all week for closed-door talks with officials from China's foreign trade
ministry.
REUTER
Copyright, 1995 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The following news report
may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the
prior written consent of Reuters Ltd. By Jane Macartney
BEIJING, Oct 14 (Reuter) - Total investment in China's enormous Three Gorges
dam project across the mighty Yangtze river has risen to nearly $30 billion
and fund raising is proceeding smoothly, officials said on Saturday. The
Ministry of Finance recently conducted a check-up on the China Three Gorges
Project Development Corp and concluded the raising of funds was going smoothly
and and management of money already collected was good, the Xinhua news
agency said.
Investment in construction of the world's biggest water control project
is now estimated at 250 billion yuan ($29.8 billion) after taking into
account factors such as inflation, interest and principal repayment, it
said. Earlier estimates said the cost would be around 146.8 billion yuan
($17.48 billion) between 1993 and 2005, when the giant hydroelectric dam
is expected to begin generating revenue. The State Council, or cabinet,
has approved five ways to raise funds from both at home and abroad, Xinhua
said.
In Washington, the White House said on Friday the United States should
not offer commercial assistance to the huge project because of environmental
concerns. The White House National Security Council sent a September 22
memo opposing U.S. commercial aid for the project to Kenneth Brody, chairman
and president of the U.S. Export-Import Bank. Officials said the stance
was part of a consistent U.S. policy on such projects and did not prohibit
private sector involvement in the Three Gorges.
China has set up a construction foundation, and from 1993 Beijing imposed
an additional tax payment on consumption of electricity that will enable
the state to raise 100 billion yuan ($12 billion), Xinhua said. Another
10 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) can be raised through profits from the Gezhouba
power station, China's largest, which is also on the Yangtze river, Xinhua
said. However, stocks issued by the Gezhouba plant have not yet been floated
on overseas markets as originally planned, Xinhua said. It gave no explanation,
but China has slowed its listing of stocks overseas this year amid sluggish
foreign interest.
Thirdly, the State Development Bank has decided to allocate 30 billion
yuan ($3.6 billion) for the project from 1994 to 2003. About 60 billion
yuan ($7.2 billion) can be raised from generation of 500 billion kilowatt
hours of electricity between 2003, when the first generating unit of the
new project is connected with the national grid, and completion of the
project. The fifth method will be to raise funds overseas, with an estimated
$2-3 billion expected to come through issue of convertible bonds. The project
has applied for permission to issue $200 million of overseas bonds next
year, Xinhua said.
IIt did not say when or where these would be issued. China had planned
to issue bonds this year but had postponed the move because of abundant
foreign exchange reserves, which soared to a record $69 billion at the
end of September. A trust and investment bank had been proposed to manage
the funds, Xinhua said. Li Yongan, deputy general manager of the development
corporation, said the project had a strong repayment capability. From 1993
to 2006, the project will borrow money while repayment will be from 2006
to 2012. In 2012, or three years after the completion of the project, China
will be able to pay all loans together with interest, and will start to
generate profits, he said.
REUTER
時事通信ニュース速報
日立製作所、東芝、三菱重工業、三菱電機の国内重電機メーカー大手四社は二十五日、中国で建設が進む三峡ダムに設置される水力発電設備の受注を四社一体で目指すことを明らかにした。四社連合の結成は、欧米のメーカーに対抗するのが狙い。
同プロジェクトは、総事業費約三兆円の中国最大級の開発事業。出力七十万キロワットクラスの水力発電機が二十六基設置され、このうち約半数が海外メーカーに発注されるとみられている。国際入札は一九九六年夏実施される見通しで、四社は二十三、二十四の両日、中国を訪問、入札への参加の意向などを伝えた。
[1995-10-25-13:09]
時事通信ニュース速報 ＝三峡ダム建設で中国当局者＝
【北京25日時事】二十五日付の中国英字紙チャイナ・デーリーによると、米政府が中国・揚子江（長江）の三峡ダム建設に融資しないよう米輸出入銀行に指導したことに対して、中国長江三峡工程開発総公司の陸佑〓総経理は「米国の発電設備メーカーがビジネスチャンスを失う恐れがあるが、三峡ダムプロジェクトには影響はない」と語った。
陸総経理は昨年末に着工したプロジェクトが順調に進んでいることを指摘した上で、「中国経済はプロジェクトを十分支えられる」と述べ、資金調達に問題がないことを強調した。 米政府は三峡ダムが環境に与える影響が大きいことや、財政上の理由から途中で建設が中止になる可能性があるとして米輸出入銀行に対し、三峡ダム建設計画に参入する企業に融資しないよう指導した。 また、陸総経理は三峡ダムに出力七十万キロワットの水力発電設備二十六基を建設する計画で、三菱重工業、三菱電機、東芝、日立製作所の日本勢をはじめ各国の大企業が五つの企業連合をつくって国際競争入札の準備を進めていることを明らかにした。
[1995-10-25-13:06]
Copyright, 1995 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The following news report
may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the
prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
BEIJING, Oct 30 (Reuter) - China's Hubei province has resettled 11,000
people, will move another 39,000 and is rebuilding whole towns to make
way for the giant Three Gorges dam project on the Yangzte River, Xinhua
said on Monday. They are the vanguard of an estimated 1.1 million people
to be relocated in the world's largest water project.
Of the 11,000, 2,400 residents have settled into newly constructed towns
and 8,600 live in temporary housing, the agency said. Because Hubei, in
central China, is responsible for resettling the 50,000 over a three-year
period that started in December 1994, building new towns is a priority,
it said. Basic infrastructure has been laid in many of the new towns, but
housing, offices and shopping areas remain to be completed, it said. A
total of 27 factories in Hubei have been relocated and 15 have started
operation at their new location, with another 45 to be moved by November
1997, it said.
When the Three Gorges reservoir is full, 14 towns and cities in Hubei on
the banks of the Yangtze will be under water. On completion of the project
in 2009, 600 sq km (232 square miles) of land in 21 counties will have
been submerged.
Copyright, 1995 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The following news report
may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the
prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
BEIJING, Oct 31 (Reuter) - A huge landslide has swept a section of highway
into China's mighty Yangtze river and destroyed a coal berth near the site
of the Three Gorges dam project, officials said on Tuesday. No casualties
were reported after the 500-metre (1,640-ft) wide and 320-metre (1,050
ft) high wall of mud and rock crashed down on several farmers' houses in
Badong county in central Hubei province early on Sunday, officials said
by telephone from Badong.
However, the slide swept a 170-metre (558-ft) section of highway 209 into
the Yangtze, halting traffic indefinitely along the road, a Badong county
transportation official said. The highway was under repair, he said. The
landslide was still moving slowly into the river and had halted services
by a river ferry, although most other river traffic was not disrupted,
the official said. The wall of mud demolished a coal berth on the river
and would not affect construction of the huge Three Gorges dam project,
he said. Shelter was provided to the few farmers made homeless and electricity
was restored, he said.
Copyright, 1995 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The following news report
may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the
prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
BEIJING, Nov 2 (Reuter) - China has begun pouring a concrete coffer dam
at the site of the Three Gorges dam in central Hubei province, pushing
the world's biggest water control project into a new phase, officials said
on Thursday. "This means that construction of the Three Gorges project
has entered a new stage," Xinhua news agency quoted an official of
the China Yangtze Three Gorges Development Corp as saying.
The L-shaped poured-concrete coffer dam is scheduled for completion in
May, officials said by telephone from the dam site near the Hubei city
of Yichang. The low-lying cofferdam will be 115 metres (377 ft) long and
68 metres (223 ft) wide. Once in place, it will be used to divert the mighty
Yangtze to allow construction of the main dam itself, which will rise to
a height of 90 metres (295 ft) by 1997.
Officials said 1,200 workers toiled day and night for the past 10 months
to prepare for the coffer dam's construction. Hubei, which is moving whole
towns to make way for the giant hydropower project, has shifted 11,000
people and will move 39,000 more in a first resettlement phase. An estimated
1.1 million people will be relocated in the world's largest water project.
On completion of the project in 2009, 600 sq km (232 sq miles) of land
in 21 counties will have been submerged.
Copyright, 1995 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The following news report
may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the
prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
BEIJING, Nov 6 (Reuter) - China is to set up a life insurance company to
provide policies to the one million people being resettled to make way
for the Three Gorges dam that will flood parts of the Yangtze river, officials
said on Monday. "We have already started the preparatory work of setting
up the life insurance company," an official of the Beijing Three Gorges
Development Group told Reuters in an interview.
"We have sent our application to the central bank and expect to win
official approval in 1996," he said. Officials of the central bank,
the People's Bank of China, declined to comment. The Three Gorges Life
Insurance Co will have its headquarters in Beijing. Branches will be established
in the central and southwestern provinces of Hubei and Sichuan, where one
million people will be relocated because of the dam and the huge lake it
will create, he said. China Three Gorges Development Company, Beijing Three
Gorges Development Group, Huaneng Electric Group and Shenzhen Dapeng Securities
Company were the main partners in forming the insurance company, he said.
Copyright, 1995 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The following news report
may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the
prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
BEIJING, Nov 15 (Reuter) - China is taking measures to prevent rock falls
and landslides along the banks of the Yangtze river in the area where it
is building the huge Three Gorges dam project, the Xinhua news agency said
on Wednesday. Banks along the stretch of the river that will become a reservoir
after it is dammed have seen frequent falls of rock and landslides and
geological departments have identified 283 places prone to such dangers,
Xinhua said.
In the past 10 years, landslides in the reservoir area have occurred constantly,
some posing serious threats to the saftey of navigation along the river,
it said. In 1982, a landslide in Yunyang county in southwestern Sichuan
province obstructed navigation for more than 40 days. On October 29 this
year, a landslide in Badong county in central Hubei province blocked 60
metres (197 ft) of the river channel. With contruction of what will be
the world's biggest water control project now in full swing, factors triggering
such landslides are on the rise, it said without giving details.
The State Science and Technology Commission and the Ministry of Geological
and Mineral Resources have organised experts to conduct large-scale surveys
of the reservoir area and they have obtained useful data on distribution
and formation of possible collapses and landslides, it said. The government
is investing in shoring up five of the most dangerous sections along the
banks of the Yangtze, it said. One dangerous section of rock on the south
bank, in Xintan town in central Hubei province is 3.0 million cu m. (1.05
billion cubic ft) in size and contains a fissure 160 metres long (525 ft)
and 1.0-2
Copyright, 1995 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The following news report
may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the
prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
BEIJING, Nov 24 (Reuter) - China on Friday defended construction of the
world's biggest water control project, saying financial gains from the
Three Gorges dam would outstrip losses. Environmental experts and economists
estimate the project in central Hubei province would bring annual gains
of 13 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) to the areas surrounding the reservoir,
the official Xinhua news agency said.
The dam on the Yangtze river will cost 9.34 billion yuan ($1.1 billion)
in annual losses, it said. The environmentalists and economists said the
reservoir would prevent the flooding of 23,000 hectares (57,000 acres)
of farmland each year, the agency said. But the reservoir will submerge
7,000 hectares (17,000 acres) of forests and 22,000 hectares (54,000 acres)
of farmland, it said.
The project will reduce the amount of silt in Dongting lake, one of China's
major freshwater lakes, and control the spread of snail fever, Xinhua said.
The dam's hydroelectric project will bring benefits to the middle reaches
of the Yangtze river, averting damage from floods of about 5.59 billion
yuan ($670 million) annually, the agency said. It will also save 7.5 billion
yuan ($904 million) in environmental protection costs annually. An estimated
1.1 million people are expected to be relocated when the dam is completed
in the year 2009.
The United States government opposes offering official assistance to the
huge dam project because of environmental concerns.
REUTER
Copyright, 1995 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The following news report
may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the
prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
BEIJING, Dec 5 (Reuter) - Chinese provinces and cities have donated about
450 million yuan ($54.2 million) to help resettle one million residents
making way for China's massive Three Gorges dam, the Financial News said
on Tuesday. Over the past three years, 20 provinces and 10 cities have
agreed to finance hundreds of relocation projects in the area along the
Yangtze River which is the site of the Three Gorges dam, it said. Some
516 resettlement projects have started so far.
In addition to funding, local governments have adopted areas of the Three
Gorges region to support and are providing training for 1,400 officials,
the newspaper said. President Jiang Zemin, Prime Minister Li Peng and other
top officials have paid several visits to the huge hydroelectric project
to muster support for the massive migration. China has pressed on with
the project despite a cost estimated at about $30 billion, resistance from
within its own Communist Party ranks and criticism from environmentalists
and human rights activists. By the time the reservoir is full of water,
21 counties, cities and districts will have been submerged.
REUTER