Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 11:35:01 -0800
From: patrick@irn.org (Patrick McCully)
Errors-To: owner-irn-three-gorges@igc.org
To: irn-three-gorges@igc.org
PRESS RELEASE 6 November 1997
Contact: Owen Lammers Executive Director (510) 848-1155
Engineers Warn of Looming Technical Fiasco at World's Most Destructive
Dam
As mammoth dump trucks work around the clock to complete a temporary dam
around the site of the controversial Three Gorges Dam, the technical concerns
which have long been raised by international experts are becoming very
real problems. Potential coffer dam failures, unusable navigation facilities,
and sedimentation problems threaten the safety and viability of the Three
Gorges Dam project according to two engineers who were recently hosted
at the dam site by Lu Youmei, President of the Three Gorges Project Development
Corporation.
There is a "real risk" of significant damage to the coffer dam,
causing major construction delays at best, and flooding of millions at
worse, according to the findings of Sklar-Luers & Associates*, which
were outlined in a report received by International Rivers Network today.
Whereas most coffer dams are designed to address a one-in-fifty chance
of failure, the sand-based temporary dam at Three Gorges is designed for
only a one-in-eight chance of the dam washing out. Its unconventional design,
the likelihood of construction delays and the lack of consideration of
failure due to seismic activity add further to this risk the consultants
warned. Geologic gambling is also underway. "Apparently rock strength
properties were over-estimated, as the permanent ship-lock walls are prone
to shallow failure ...which would invariably result in injuries and damages
to ship traffic and the locks themselves. ... The weaker than expected
state of the underlying bedrock suggests that the granite has a higher
density of fractures than assumed, raising the possibility of higher rates
of seepage beneath and around the dam wall with associated foundation instability"
the engineers say. Additionally, the long-debated issue of sedimentation
is also not working in the planners' favor. Unforeseen sediment deposition
is forcing around- the-clock dredging of the project's diversion channel.
"[O]bservations made in the reservoir area, and of the relatively
simplistic methods used in the design calculations regarding sediment supply
and transport dynamics, force us to conclude that sedimentation is likely
to compromise the operation of the dam much sooner and more decisively
than anticipated (as it has already in the diversion channel)," the
report states. "This is merely the most recent evidence that science
and engineering are taking a back seat to political agendas in order to
erect this monument to China's hard-line regime" says Owen Lammers,
IRN's executive Director. 30 *'Report on a Site Visit to the Three Gorges
Dam, Yangtze River, Hubei Province, China, October 17-18, 1997', Sklar
- Luers & Associates, consultants in hydrology, engineering hydraulics,
sediment transport and geomorphology, 7502 Lynn Avenue, El Cerrito, CA,
USA. Tel. (510) 540-0152. ********************* REPORT ON A SITE VISIT
TO THE THREE GORGES DAM YANGTZE RIVER, HUBEI PROVINCE, CHINA OCTOBER 17-18,
1997 by Leonard S. Sklar and Amy L. Luers Principals Sklar - Luers &
Associates Consultants in Hydrology - Engineering Hydraulics - Sediment
Transport - Geomorphology 7502 Lynn Avenue, El Cerrito, California 94530,
USA Tel: (510) 540-0152 Fax: (510) 236-7687 1. INTRODUCTION The authors
of this report participated in a delegation of U.S. engineers who were
hosted at the Three Gorges Dam construction site by the Office of the President
of the Three Gorges Development Corporation. The information provided below
is based on discussions with project engineers, personal observations of
conditions at the site, and on written materials provided by the project
authorities. In particular we focus on questions regarding evidence of
unexpected problems, deviations from standard engineering practice, and
potential for problems in later stages of the project. The project is currently
reaching the end of phase I and preparing to begin phase II. That transition
will be marked by the closing of the main channel and the complete diversion
of the river flow into the diversion channel constructed during phase I,
scheduled to take place in early November. At the time of our visit, all
navigation was passing through the diversion channel on the right bank,
which was carrying about 30% of the total discharge of apx. 20,000 cms.
Construction activity was focused on three primary tasks: extension of
the upstream and downstream closure dikes across the main channel from
the left bank to Zhongbao Island; concrete placement for the temporary
shiplock; and concrete placement on the left bank abutment of the dam wall.
(See Figure 1: Project Layout) Project components already completed include
the downstream navigation channel, upstream and downstream concrete bank
lining, the longitudinal concrete coffer dam, the channel-spanning suspension
bridge and the associated new highway from the City of Yichang. Considerable
work had been done on the excavation for the permanent 5-step ship lock
and on concrete placement for the dam wall segment on Zhongbao Island.
In addition, numerous structures including housing and office complexes,
hotels and recreation facilities have been completed on both banks of the
river. 2. SHIP LOCK ROCK WALL INSTABILITY The first major problem encountered
to date is rock wall instability in the excavated ship lock channel. Apparently,
rock strength properties of the amphibole-plagioclase granite substrate,
derived from analysis of core samples, were over-estimated, with the result
that the vertical walls up to 170 m high have been prone to shallow failures.
This results from deformation of the rock mass in response to the sudden
asymmetrical unloading associated with excavation. Further work appears
to have been suspended while a team of Norwegian geotechnical engineers
has been retained to recommend remedial measures. Solving this problem
could proved difficult for several reasons. First, equilibration of the
rock walls with the new stress configuration could take many years, even
decades. During that period, if completed as designed, the ship lock may
be faced with a steady if infrequent incidence of rock failures, which
would invariably result in injuries and damages to ship traffic and the
locks themselves. Second, the ship locks are situated in a saddle between
two local topograhic high points on the ridge parallel to the dam axis.
This makes it impractical to grade the slopes of the ship lock channel
back to slopes significantly gentler than vertical. Third, the weaker than
expected state of the underlying bedrock suggests that the granite has
a higher density of fractures than assumed, raising the possibility of
higher rates of seepage beneath and around the dam wall with associated
foundation instabilities, and a greater potential for large landslides
to be induced on the walls of the Xiling Gorge upstream. 3. RIVER CLOSURE
AND COFFER DAM CONSTRUCTION The second major issue of concern to project
engineers is the phase II coffer dam in general and the ongoing river closure
effort in particular. At the time of our visit, project authorities were
assembling an emergency technical panel to respond to unexpected difficulties
in constructing the closure dikes. The source of the problem seems to be
surprisingly rapid sedimentation in the diversion channel, which was excavated
during phase I. Reduction of flow conveyance in the diversion channel due
to sediment deposition has increased the flow and thus the velocity in
the main channel. As the main channel narrows with extension of the closure
dikes, velocities increase further, to such an extent that the large boulders
with which they are building the dikes are being entrained in the flow
rather than coming to rest on the submerged dike slope. This has two detrimental
effects, it slows the progress of the closure dike construction, already
on a very constrained schedule, and it threatens to exhaust the rock supply
on Zhongbao Island, which is being excavated to provide material for the
right spurs of the closure dikes. While on site we observed two large pump
dredges operating continuously in the diversion channel in an effort to
manage the unexpected sedimentation. Assuming the closure will ultimately
be achieved, the phase II coffer dam presents perhaps the most difficult
and risk prone aspect of the Three Gorges Dam construction, an assessment
project engineers readily agreed with. Due to a lack of impermeable materials
in the surrounding area, the coffer dam design calls for a highly unconventional
approach. The coffer dam, which is located directly behind the closure
dike, will be made from decomposed granite, essentially sand, which will
be placed underwater without any mechanical compaction. Because under these
conditions this material is highly permeable, a concrete cutoff wall will
be placed along the coffer dam axis. (See Figure 2: Coffer Dam Cross-Section)
The integrity of the coffer dam will be entirely dependent on the ability
of this concrete membrane to block flow through the otherwise porous structure.
The concrete will be injected in bore holes which will be placed in pairs,
each 0.5 m in diameter. Overall, the wall will be 1.0 m thick and extend
vertically through the alluvium underlying the coffer dam and into the
bedrock substrate. A critical issue is whether the bore holes can be kept
straight during drilling, because any wandering could introduce gaps in
the wall through which seepage could occur. This method has never been
attempted on such a large scale, even in the West where construction techniques
are generally more advanced. The Chinese tend to use what by international
standards would be considered 'old fashioned' construction techniques,
relying on large over-design ratios to mitigate for expected shortcomings
such as inconsistency in concrete quality and lack of precision placement.
However, no such over-design compensation seems to have been adopted in
the design of the phase II coffer dam. Not only will this unconventional
coffer dam design be difficult to implement properly, but project engineers
have a very limited time window in which to complete the coffer dam construction.
With closure of the main channel scheduled for early November of this year,
and the onset of the annual summer high water flows expected by the end
of May, there are less than seven months in which to do the job. If the
integrity of the cutoff wall cannot be assured before the high water season,
it will not be possible to dewater the site and begin excavation of the
dam wall foundation. Construction would then be delayed through the wet
season and would presumably resume in October with the return of low water.
The tight coffer dam construction schedule introduces additional risk in
that the quality of the work could suffer from the haste to beat the unmovable
deadline. Another source of concern for the safety of the coffer dam is
the choice of a design flood with a 50 year recurrence interval; in other
words, a flow larger than the 50 year flood would exceed the capacity of
the diversion channel and overtop the coffer dam. For a coffer dam with
an expected life of 1 or 2 years this would not be an unreasonable choice.
But because phase II is scheduled to last 6 years, the probability of a
flood occurring which exceeds the design capacity of the coffer dam is
6 in 50, or about 1 in 8. Any delays, which are to be expected with a project
of this magnitude, would worsen the odds, to 1 in 7 with a one year delay
and 1 in 6 with an extra two years in phase II. Continued problems with
sedimentation in the diversion channel would reduce the capacity of the
channel to pass the coffer dam design flood, increasing the probability
of a overtopping event even further. Project engineers admitted that a
flood in excess of the coffer dam design capacity was quite possible, and
described contingency plans which would involve emergency efforts to raise
the coffer dam height on a couple of days notice from upstream hydrologic
monitoring stations. Given the potential harm to the project that would
result from a failure of the coffer dam, we were quite surprised by the
real risks project engineers appeared willing to take. Any overtopping
of the coffer dam would flood the area where the main dam wall, including
the left bank powerhouse and main spillway structures, are to be constructed.
In the event that reliable short-term forecasts of a flood in excess of
design capacity are received from upstream, it would be prudent to pre-emptively
flood the construction site to protect the base of the coffer dam by submerging
it on both sides. After the flood wave had passed, the site would have
to be de-watered, the accumulated sediment removed, and damage to partially
completed structures repaired. It is reasonable to assume that such an
event would delay the construction time-line by at least one year, possibly
longer. If project authorities chose not to intentionally flood the construction
site, and the coffer dam were overtopped, the uncompacted weathered granite
would scour rapidly, leading to a catastrophic failure of the coffer dam
structure, with potentially grave consequences. First, the entire closure
dike and coffer dam complex would have to be reconstructed. Second, damage
to the partially completed dam structure would be far more extensive, as
would be the effort required to clean up the debris from the failed coffer
dam. Such an accident would undoubtedly cause delays of several years before
the project could get back on track. Third, and perhaps of greatest concern,
the flood wave from the sudden release of the flood water impounded behind
the diversion structure, coming at a time of exceptionally high water to
begin with, could over-top Ghezouba Dam 35 km downstream and endanger the
homes of potentially millions of people. Given the unusually long period,
six to eight or more years, during which the phase II coffer dam will be
in use, we were also quite surprised to learn from project engineers that
no seismic criteria were used in the coffer dam design. Abundant evidence
of neo-tectonic activity, such as offset limestone bedding and fold discontinuities,
is in plain view along the bedrock river banks in the vicinity of the dam.
The Three Gorges themselves exist due to ongoing late Cenozoic deformation
associated with the rise of the Tibetan Plateau. It is unreasonable to
assume that the seismic hazards in this region are minimal. The coffer
dam, fully saturated on the outboard side, and dependent on the integrity
of an unreinforced thin concrete membrane, will be highly vulnerable to
ground accelerations of even moderate magnitude. 4. PHASE III TURBINE-GENERATING
UNITS The third area of major concern to the project engineers with whom
we met, after the rock stability in the ship lock and safety of the phase
II coffer dam, has to do with the planned fabrication in China of the final
12 turbine-generator assemblies to be installed in the right bank powerhouse
during phase III. A 'technology transfer' condition in the contracts for
the international suppliers of the first 14 turbine-generator pairs requires
that they assist Chinese manufacturers in producing the remaining units.
At 700 MW capacity, this would represent a more than doubling in size from
China's largest domestically-produced turbines, which have a capacity of
300 MW. Much of the Three Gorges Project's calculated ability to generate
income depends on the consistent performance of the Chinese-made units.
The fact that the project engineers, who are all fiercely proud of their
country's determination to build what will be the world's most powerful
hydroplant, confessed some apprehension about the quality of these generating
units, indicates that political pressures may be outweighing engineering
judgment, at least with regards to the issue of turbine-generator fabrication.
5. CONCLUSION In summary, we found that the project is moving ahead roughly
on the critical path schedule, although project engineers are facing in
the coming months perhaps the most difficult challenge of the entire scheme
in constructing the phase II coffer dam. The chosen approach to the design
and implementation of the coffer dam appears to us to indicate a surprisingly
cavalier attitude to risk. From the choice of a relatively high frequency
design flood to the decision to ignore the evident seismic hazards, project
engineers seem willing to gamble with nature, hoping that the next six
to eight years are relatively quiet ones in the Xiling Gorge of the Yangtze.
Given the state of affairs described above, in our professional opinion,
the probability of multi-year delays in the construction time-line is high,
and the risk of a catastrophic coffer dam failure is uncomfortably far
from negligible. Unfortunately, what we saw and heard at the Three Gorges
Dam construction site confirmed much of the concerns expressed in the international
engineering literature and elsewhere about the risks project authorities
are willing to take in their effort to construct this long-debated project.
Much of that debate has of course concerned the fundamental purposes of
the project, rather than the details of the construction process. We did
have an opportunity to discuss these larger issues with project engineers
and will conclude with a brief discussion of what we consider to be one
of several still unanswered questions regarding the wisdom of building
the Three Gorges Dam in the first place. All three of the principal benefits
of the dam, flood control, power generation, and improved navigation, depend
on a solution to the problem of reservoir sedimentation. However, observations
made on our trip through the reservoir area, and the relatively simplistic
methods used in the design calculations regarding sediment supply and transport
dynamics, force us to conclude that sedimentation is likely to compromise
the operation of the dam much sooner and more decisively than advertised
(as it has already in the diversion channel). For example, much of the
live storage volume, perhaps as much as 50%, occurs along tributary channels
and outside the gorges, along reaches of the Yangtze with wide valley cross-sections.
These areas are likely to be the first portions of the live storage volume
filled with deposited sediment, with coarse bedload deposits in the tributary
canyons and fine slackwater deposits in the wide valley reaches. The planned
annual drawdown of the reservoir for sediment flushing is unlikely to mobilize
these deposits, a result we would expect from a two-dimensional model of
reservoir sediment dynamics. However, only a one-dimensional model has
been used in the project design, in which the tributary coarse bedload
was simply ignored, despite the nearly ubiquitous occurrence of gravel-cobble
fans at the tributary junctions with the main stem. Loss of live storage
translates directly into loss of flood control capacity. When we raised
this issue with project engineers, along with other concerns such as channel
bed aggradation and flooding upstream of the reservoir, sedimentation of
ports and navigation channels, downstream channel bed degradation and flood
control levee erosion, and abrasion damage to turbines, penstocks, gates
and spillways, they had a rather revealing 'off the record' response. Because
the Three Gorges Development Corporation is already preparing plans to
build additional dams upstream on the Yangtze main stem and major tributaries,
project engineers claimed the discussion of reservoir sedimentation in
the Three Gorges was moot, the problem would be faced by another team of
engineers, some other day, some other place.
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 12:43:38 -0800 From: patrick@irn.org (Patrick McCully)
Errors-To: owner-irn-three-gorges@igc.org To: irn-three-gorges@igc.org
> >Subject: China upgrades Three Gorges dam blueprint to add generators:
>report >Organization: Copyright 1997 by Agence France-Presse >Date:
Tue, 28 Oct 1997 7:11:21 PST > > BEIJING, Oct 28 (AFP) - China has
decided to increase the number >of power-generating turbines which will
come on line at the massive >Three Gorges hydropower project in 2003
because construction is >ahead of schedule, Xinhua news agency reported
Tuesday. > Engineers now aim to launch power generation with five turbines
>compared to two, it said. > A total of 26 turbines producing 18,200
megawatts will be in >operation upon the dam's completion in 2009. >
Three European consortia, one with a Canadian partner, in August >won
contracts worth some 800 million dollars to supply 14 of the >generators.
The rest will be wholly or partly produced in China by >Chinese companies,
using technology transferred by the consortia. > Work at Three Gorges
-- the biggest hydroelectric project in the >world -- began in 1993.
> Workers are due fully to block the river's flow for the first >time
on November 8. >-=-=- >
Date: Fri, 7 Nov 1997 14:37:21 -0800 From: patrick@irn.org (Patrick McCully)
Errors-To: owner-irn-three-gorges@igc.org To: irn-three-gorges@igc.org
PRESS RELEASE Contact: Michelle Chan-Fishel 202-783-7400 x242 Lynn Erskine
202-783-7400 x255 For Immediate Release Thursday, November 5, 1997 CRITICS
BLAST CHINA START-UP OF THREE GORGES DAM Chinese Dissident Dai Qing, Environmentalists
Urge Lehman Brothers, Other Investors to Stop Financing World's Most Destructive
Dam Washington, DC In a press conference today Chinese journalist Dai Qing
blasted the project and released her second collection of banned essays
opposing the dam. She was joined by two leading environmental groups, International
Rivers Network and Friends of the Earth, who issued the scathing results
of a recent investigation of the Three Gorges coffer (temporary) dam, and
called on U.S. investors to stop selling international bonds that finance
the project. "The Three Gorges Dam is the most environmentally and
socially destructive project in the world," said Dai Qing. The controversial
dam would displace 1.4 million people, flood an area twice the length of
the Grand Canyon, and cost upwards of $73 billion to build. On November
8, 1997, China will divert the Yangtze River with a coffer dam to make
way for its construction. As mammoth dump trucks work around the clock
to meet the deadline, international outcry over the political, technical
and financial problems continue to plague the project. To receive excerpts
of Dai Qing's new book, details on the results of the technical investigation,
or copies of an internationally-endorsed letter to Lehman Brothers and
other financial institutions who sell Three Gorges bonds, contact Lynn
Erskine (202-783-7400 x255) or Michelle Chan- Fishel (202-783-7400 x242)
at Friends of the Earth. "For decades, damming the Yangtze has been
a focus of public outrage, if not open public debate. Dictators of the
past gave the project their full support, effectively silencing any opposition,"
said Dai Qing. She released her new book, The River Dragon Has Come!, her
second collection of banned essays critical of the colossal dam, and blasted
the project as political gamemanship, charging that "the dam has a
clear political rather than economic goal." The press conference also
featured the results of a recent trip to the dam site by Sklar-Luers &
Associates. Their investigation reveals that potential coffer dam failures,
unusable navigation facilities and sedimentation problems threaten the
safety and viability of the Three Gorges Project. In a letter to International
Rivers Network (IRN), Sklar-Luers & Associates asserted that there
is a "real risk" of significant damage to the coffer dam, causing
major construction delays at best, and flooding millions at worse. "This
is merely the most recent evidence that science and engineering are taking
a back seat to political agendas in order to erect this monument to China's
hard-line regime," said Owen Lammers, Executive Director of International
Rivers Network. In addition, Friends of the Earth and the International
Rivers Network, along with other organizations from around the world, called
on investors and financiers to halt their support for the controversial
dam. In letters sent yesterday to Lehman Brothers, C.S. First Boston, J.P.
Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Smith Barney and BankAmerica Corporation, they
urged the firms to stop underwriting bonds for the State Development Bank
(SDB) of China, whose leading creditor is the Three Gorges Project Development
Corporation. In January 1997, these firms underwrote a $330 million bond
issue for the SDB. A second bond issue to scheduled to take place before
the end of the year. "The Three Gorges Dam is on its way to becoming
the leading non-performing asset in the history of finance." said
Michelle Chan-Fishel, Friends of the Earth, International Policy Analyst.
"Ironically, these bonds are propping up the very projects that are
causing much of the deteriorating health of China's banking industry."
A bond issue by Nomura Securities for the SDB in Japan was canceled earlier
this year following public discovery that the proceeds would help finance
the Three Gorges Dam. --30-- Michelle Chan, Friends of the Earth mchan@FOE.org
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 16:54:42 -0800 (PST) From: owner-irn-three-gorges@igc.org
To: "undisclosed-recipients:;"@igc.org > >Copyright 1997
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 Andrew Browne > BEIJING,
Oct 29 (Reuters) - From the world's biggest dam to the most >feverish
highway construction binge in history, China's infrastructure >plans
reflect the ambitions of an economic superpower in the making. > Symbol
of the rising Asian giant is the gargantuan Three Gorges Dam >along
the Yangtze River, slated for completion in 2009. > More than one mile
(1.6 km) wide, it will have the muscle of 18 >nuclear power stations
by squeezing the world's third longest river, after >the Nile and the
Amazon, through the heaviest turbines ever built. > The cost, officially,
is around $30 billion: critics say the final >price tag could be as
high as $75 billion. > Whatever the figure, it represents just a fraction
of China's >infrastructure spending over the next decade, estimated
by the World Bank >at $740 billion -- almost equal to the country's
annual gross domestic >product. > Some $200 billion of that spending
will go on power, according to the >World Bank. > Also on the drawing
boards are airports -- five each year are planned >over the next 10
years -- ports, railways, bridges, telephone networks and >satellite
links. > And sometime over the next quarter century, Beijing's central
planners >say, a 35,000 km (21,748 miles) network of trunk highways
will criss-cross >the world's most populous nation. > Too ambitious?
> Consider China's astonishing success in wiring the country for >telephones.
> Five years ago, the country of 1.2 billion people had just 15 million
>telephone lines -- one for each urban neighbourhood and almost none
in the >countryside. > Now there are more than 100 million, and the
speed of installation is >picking up. By the end of this century, another
75 million phone lines will >be added. > To quench the nation's thirst
for power, China for several years was >installing generating capacity
each year equivalent to an Australia. > In terms of installed power
capacity, China is now second only to the >United States. > And according
to James Spencer, Director of Sithe China Holdings, an >investor in
Chinese power projects, "the potential is still enormous." >
Dreams of raising finance for China's infrastructure spending spree >have
lured investment banks from Wall Street to London to set up in >Shanghai,
the nation's financial hub and home to the largest of its two >stock
markets. > If China's blueprints for modernisation are to get off the
ground, the >country will have to mobilise its private savings and tap
international >markets. > "The real financing for this is going
to have to come from the private >sector," said George Plant, Chief
of Operations for the World Bank mission >in Beijing. > Stock issues
have so far been a huge success. Build-operate-transfer >(BOT) schemes
have been tested successfully. > "In the larger picture you're
going to have to develop bond markets," >said Plant. > China's
capital markets are relatively small and unsophisticated. Its >banks
lack the innovative skills needed to package and sell massive >infrastructure
offerings. > For now, Hong Kong has become the main gateway for China
to access >global funding. > Stock investors in the territory have
devoured Chinese infrastructure >plays. > These include toll highways
and, this month, the biggest ever offering >on the Hong Kong market
-- China Telecom (Hong Kong) Ltd, which operates >mobile phone services
in two Chinese provinces. > The China Telecom offering was worth around
$4 billion, and little >wonder investors snapped it up. China's mobile
telephone market is growing >by 150 percent each year. > BOT schemes
have been tested for highways and bridges; now the Chinese >government
is extending the experiment to power and water treatment >projects too.
> This month, Shanghai turned on the tap for the country's first BOT
>water treatment facility. Britain's Thames Water has a 20-year contract
to >operate the $68 million plant, built by Bovis Construction Group.
> Last month China signed its first ever BOT power deal, a $600 million
>project with Electricite de France (EdF). > ($1.0 - 8.3 yuan) >
REUTERS Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Wed,
29 Oct 1997 17:58:02 -0800 From: patrick@irn.org (Patrick McCully) Message-Id:
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 20:09:05 -0800 From: patrick@irn.org (Patrick McCully)
Errors-To: owner-irn-three-gorges@igc.org To: irn-three-gorges@igc.org
> > [ Reuters Securities News] >----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Tuesday October 28 1:15 AM EST > >FEATURE-Foreigners in scramble
for huge China dam > >By Scott Hillis > >CHONGQING, China,
Oct 28 (Reuters) - When the emperors of ancient China >launched one
of the world's greatest public works projects -- the 6,000-km >(3,700-mile)
Great Wall -- their idea was to keep foreigners out. > >Today, China's
communist rulers are busy on another grand project, the >gargantuan
Three Gorges dam on the Yangtze River, downstream from Chongqing. >
>But this time foreigners are welcome to lend a hand, with billions
of >dollars to be spent on everything from turbines to earth-movers
to plastic >sheeting. > >The world's biggest dam project, which
will tap the might of China's longest >river, is a $29-billion investment
bonanza that has foreign companies >scrambling to get a piece of the
action. > >However, some critics of the project contend that cost
over-runs will cause >the total amount spent to balloon out. These critics
say the dam could end >up costing anything as much as $70 billion to
$75 billion. > >``There's just a gigantic amount of work going on
out there,'' said one >Western diplomat who follows the project closely.
> >A total of 26 generators will convert the river's churning waters
into an >18,200-megawatt river of electricity that will help slake China's
huge >thirst for energy and power its economic boom. > >FUNDING
SHORTFALL > >Paying for the monster dam will be almost as great a
feat as building it. > >The central government will pick up half
of the 240-billion yuan >($29-billion) tab while loans from state banks
will finance another 20 >percent. The downstream Gezhouba dam will chip
in 18 billion yuan, and the >Three Gorges dam is to fire up the first
of its turbines in 2003, >contributing 10 percent. > >That means
a funding shortfall of at least 30 billion yuan. > >Officials say
they will issue domestic and overseas bonds and seek export >credits
to plug the gap. > >But the only bond to emerge has been a one-billion-yuan
domestic issue in >March, while a rumoured overseas issue has so far
failed to materialise. >Foreign export credits and commercial loans
have added a little more than $1 >billion. > >The World Bank,
a strong backer of other dam projects in China, has so far >kept the
Three Gorges project at arm's length, and the U.S. Export-Import >Bank
has ruled out providing export credits for fears the dam will wreak >havoc
on the environment. > >China has vowed to continue with the project,
and drove the point home to >doubters by awarding juicy generator contracts
to European and Canadian >companies backed by export credits. > >``It
has kind of kept a lot of our biggest companies out of participation,''
>a U.S. embassy official said of the Ex-Im Bank's decision. > >THE
SPOILS OF WAR > >Earlier this year, the spotlight fell on heavyweight
foreign consortiums >fighting for a bid to supply nearly a billion dollars
worth of generators >and turbines. > >Beijing in August finally
split the deal for 14 700-megawatt units between a >group formed by
British-French GEC Alsthom 1/8ALSF.CN ( AND SWEDISH-SWISS >ABB The GEC
Alsthom-ABB group won eight generators worth $420 million while >the
Siemens-led consortium captured six units worth $320 million. Hopes of
>American, Japanese and Russian companies were dashed. > >But
off the main stage, smaller battles are being waged over the more >mundane
spoils of the project, such as the supply of construction machinery, >power
transmission cables and computer systems. > >Some of the 9,100 km
(5,500 miles) of power lines -- valued at $6 billion -- >are open to
foreign bidding. Siemens is hoping to supply 4,000 km (2,400 >miles)
of cable in a contract expected to be awarded this year. > >China
says half of the equipment needed for the project will be imported, >and
estimates it will buy $2-$3 billion worth of earth-moving and >concrete-pouring
machinery for the dam's second phase after the river is >diverted on
November 8. > >China has already bought more than $100 million of
equipment from foreign >companies such as Caterpillar (CAT) of the United
States and Komatsu and >Mitsubishi of Japan. > >U.S.-based Rotec
Industries has sold $30 million of concrete moving >equipment. Nearly
$18 million has gone to Mitsubishi, France's Potain SA and >C.S. Johnson
of the United States for construction equipment. A joint >venture with
Britain's Tensar International has supplied thousands of metres >of
plastic sheeting. > >PRESSURE TO BUY DOMESTIC > >China plans
to get its money's worth out of that machinery. > >Workers will pour
27 million cubic metres (953 million cubic feet) of >concrete into the
giant dam, which will tower 175 metres (580 feet) over the >Yangtze
and hold back a 600-square-km (230-square-mile) lake. > >Some 40
percent of the project's minimum 240 billion yuan price tag is >expected
to go to raw materials such as cement, 354,000 tonnes of rebar and >another
281,000 tonnes of metal. > >The project was priced at 90 billion
yuan at 1993 levels, but officials say >costs could soar to as much
as 300 billion yuan when counting inflation and >interest. > >Foreigners
are finding that winning contracts can be tough because pressure >on
project officials to keep price tags down has meant the bulk of the deals
>are going to domestic firms. > >``Everybody wants to build a
name in China, so everybody is willing to go to >the cheapest prices,''
said Kelvin Sin, sales manager for Lei Shing Hong >Machinery, which
handles sales for Caterpillar in eastern China. > >Big chunks of
the generator deals awarded to foreign firms are to be >subcontracted
to Chinese machinery giants Harbin Power Equipment (1133.HK) >and Dongfang
Electrical Machinery (1072.HK) (600875.SS). > >``The Chinese would
like in the coming years to become less and less >dependent on foreign-produced
products and more and more dependent on >domestic production,'' the
diplomat said. > >But foreign officials say they are optimistic that
quality and safety >considerations will mean more contracts for Western
companies able to >provide the latest technology. > >``We're hoping
for more in the future. It's a long-term project obviously >and there's
certainly a lot of work to go around,'' the diplomat said. > >----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Copyright ?1997 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication
or > redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without
the prior > written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable
for any errors or > delays in the content, or for any actions taken
in reliance thereon > Important Disclaimers and Legal Information >
Questions or Comments?
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 09:23:02 -0800 (PST) From: owner-irn-three-gorges@igc.org
To: "undisclosed-recipients:;"@igc.org >> >>*** China
begins to dam Yellow River - China's sorrow >> >>China began
blocking the Yellow River Sunday -- known as China's >>sorrow for
its catastrophic floods that have claimed millions of >>lives. The
$4.17 billion water control project in central Henan >>Province is
China's largest after the huge Three Gorges Dam, for >>which the
work on diverting the mighty Yangtze River is due to begin >>later
this week. The Xiaolangdi Dam project is among the most >>technically
complicated China has ever undertaken, involving an >>intricate network
of tunnels threading through its banks. The >>blocking of the river
began when six trucks emptied their loads into >>the river. For story
>>http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=5628417-4f7 >>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Tue, 28 Oct
1997 10:26:19 -0800 From: patrick@irn.org (Patrick McCully) Message-Id:
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 13:56:44 -0800 (PST) From: owner-irn-three-gorges@igc.org
To: "undisclosed-recipients:;"@igc.org > >Support for APRENet
is provided by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. > >Please send news
items, discussion contributions, subscription >requests, or other comments
to the Report Editor at: >aprenet@nautilus.org . > > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 21:45:49 -0700 >To: aprenetlist@nautilus.org
> > >CONNECTIVITY >Asia-Pacific Trade, Environment, and Development
Monitor >VOL.1 NO.13, October 24, 1997 > >Connectivity is distributed
to e-mail participants of >the Asia Pacific Regional Environment Network
(APRENet). >World wide web (html), text, and portable document format
>(pdf) versions of the monitor are available at: >X-Sender: aprenet@nautilus.org
(Unverified) Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date:
Mon, 27 Oct 1997 14:59:32 -0800 From: patrick@irn.org (Patrick McCully)
Message-Id:
Copyright 1997 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 Scott Hillis YUNYANG, China, Nov
5 (Reuters) - Zhang Fei, a brash Chinese general whose battlefield exploits
more than 1,500 years ago are still spoken of with awe, has finally met
his match. His foe this time is far more powerful than chariot armies with
swords and spears. It is the gargantuan Three Gorges dam -- the world's
mightiest hydropower project that will submerge the site of the ancient
temple honouring China's much loved hero. Built more than 1,000 years ago
in a unique architectural style, the temple that nestles on the banks of
the Yangtze River has survived floods and fires. It largely escaped the
wrath of Mao Zedong's ultra-leftist Red Guards who sought to smash China's
cultural treasures during the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution. But Beijing's
cultural commissars have now marked the classical masterpiece for relocation.
Piece by piece it will be dismantled and rebuilt on higher ground nearby,
forever losing its charmed location next to flowing water. Countless other
archaeological and cultural sites will be lost to the dam's huge reservoir.
Nearly 1,300 sites of historical interest dot the 600-km (366-mile) stretch
of the Yangtze that will be flooded by the towering concrete dam. This
Saturday, workers will block the river's main channel in preparation for
building the dam's walls. Water levels will rise to about 175 metres (578
feet) above sea level by 2009. LACK OF MANPOWER, MONEY Officials say teams
of experts are working hard to rescue artefacts, but China appears to have
neither the manpower nor the money to preserve much of its precious heritage.
The Three Gorges project will cost 240 billion yuan ($29 billion), but
Beijing has not revealed how much of that will go towards preservation.
"If massive attention is not focused on this problem, this portion
of ancient civilisation -- which belongs not just to China, but to all
of humankind -- will be lost forever," wrote Dai Qing, one of the
dam's most prominent critics. Only a handful of sites, mostly major tourist
draws such as the Zhang Fei temple, have been deemed worthy of preservation
by Beijing. Others include a huge temple complex in the town of Fengdu
and numerous cliff carvings. The carvings will be chiselled out of the
sheer rock face and moved elsewhere. Less flashy archaeological sites linking
Chinese civilisation to its neolithic roots are receiving less attention.
"These kind of losses are of course very great," said Lu Zhou,
an associate professor of architecture at China's Qinghua University who
is in charge of moving the Zhang Fei temple. BEIJING SEEN DITHERING The
sense of loss is keen for Chinese, who are proud of their civilisation,
once the most glorious in the world, and who still uphold a Confucian reverence
for antiquity. Officials such as Yu Weichao, director of the National Museum
of Chinese History, and former Minster of Culture Wang Meng, have called
for urgent action to rescue artefacts from the doomed area. To some, it
seems that Beijing is dithering. The Yangtze's muddy waters will start
lapping at the wooden gates of the Zhang Fei temple in four to five years,
said Nie Shijiang, director of Yunyang's cultural relics bureau. Dismantling
the temple and rebuilding it 30 km (18 miles) away would cost 100 million
yuan, he said. Beijing has offered to help foot the bill, but has not given
a figure. Local officials were considering appealing to the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation for money, he said. Asked
if the dam should be built, professor Lu paused for a long time before
offering the politically correct answer: "This project is being undertaken
with a view towards the long-term development of China." ($1-8.3 yuan)
Copyright 1997 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 Scott Hillis FULING, China, Nov
3 (Reuters) - High on a hill in China's Yangtze River city of Fuling, a
big red warning sign announces the coming of an apocalypse: "177 metres
-- Three Gorges Water Inundation Line." It gives ominous notice of
the largest peacetime forced migration in history -- the relocation of
1.2 million people to make way for the gargantuan Three Gorges dam. When
the Yangtze is partially blocked on Saturday for construction of the world's
mightiest dam, the river will start its climb towards the marker, consigning
hundreds of thousands of homes, farms and factories to a watery mass grave.
Some 50,000 people have already abandoned their homes along the river's
banks. A multitude of others will eventually be forced from their ancestral
lands by a 600-km (365-mile) long lake to be created by the dam near Yichang
in central Hubei province. The river is expected to rise by 30-40 cm (12-16
inches) initially, and swelling water levels will force another 40,000
people to head to higher ground by the end of this year. HUMAN RIGHTS OUTRAGE
The forced eviction of families from their ancestral homes has stirred
deep unease in China, where respect for one's forebears is an overriding
virtue. Abandoning the ground where ancestors lived, died and were buried
amounts to sacrilege. China's communist rulers fear popular wrath, and
are struggling to convey a sense of caring and compassion. State media
showed Premier Li Peng smiling and shaking hands with local residents this
week. "It is vital to solve the problem of resettlement," said
Ou Huishu, deputy director of the resettlement bureau of Chongqing, China's
largest metropolis that embraces Fuling. Activists opposed to the dam blast
the relocation as a violation of human rights on a huge scale. "It
will definitely cause social unrest," said Dai Qing, an outspoken
critic of the dam. Dai's 1989 book "Yangtze! Yangtze!," which
argues the project is a monstrous white elephant, has been banned in China.
Officials say the dam will propel China's economy into the 21st century
and have pledged the relocation will bring greater prosperity. Of the project's
estimated 240 billion yuan ($29 billion) price tag, some 100 billion yuan
($12 billion) is earmarked to compensate residents for their lost homes
and to build new roads, water systems and power lines. Authorities are
pressuring successful companies in China's more prosperous coastal regions
to open factories in resettled areas to create jobs. "We are confident
that we have the ability to complete this historic task," said Ou.
TAKE-IT-OR-LEAVE-IT Many Yangtze River residents reluctantly agree the
dam will be good for China, but grumble about everything from the price
of the new concrete houses and apartments to corruption among local officials
supervising the scheme. Officials are offering take-it-or-leave-it compensation
deals that pay farmers and city dwellers according to floor space, rather
than the market value of their homes. "The compensation doesn't cover
the money I spent fixing up the place," said 42-year-old tour boat
captain Li Xingquan. In Sichuan province's Guihua village, sweet potato
farmer Guo Qingmu said she was paid 15,000 yuan ($1,800) for her old 84
square metre (904 sq ft) home, not nearly enough to pay for a spacious
new house with electricity and tapwater. Guo, 31, said she had to borrow
more than 40,000 yuan ($4,800) from family and friends to buy her new home,
which cost 60,000 yuan ($7,200) and is twice the size of her former abode.
"What alternative do we have? Our homes will be flooded, so we have
to come here," said Guo's brother, Guo Qingfu. LEAVING ANCESTRAL LANDS
Farmers uprooted from fertile plots that grow some of China's best oranges
complain about their new holdings on unwelcoming soil. "The newly-developed
land will be a little bit worse," conceded Zhou Jinhua, mayor of Wanxian
city, which administers a vast area now home to more than two thirds of
all the people doomed to be displaced. Farmers have each been promised
about 0.067 hectares (0.165 acres) of land. But in some areas, the supply
of new farmland is inadequate, a problem officials pledge to solve by redistributing
land now worked by farmers in other villages. Other officials concede it
will be hard to overcome traditional Chinese attitudes towards ancestral
homes. "The farmers are used to living on their own land and don't
really want to move," said Shi Huanyun, an education official in Wanxian
county. "It is not a money problem, it is a matter of feelings."
Date: Fri, 7 Nov 1997 13:29:07 -0800 (PST) From: owner-irn-three-gorges@igc.org
To: "undisclosed-recipients:;"@igc.org > >Monday November
3 5:24 AM EST > >FEATURE-China dam spells apocalypse for many >
>By Scott Hillis > >FULING, China, Nov 3 (Reuters) - High on a
hill in China's Yangtze River >city of Fuling, a big red warning sign
announces the coming of an >apocalypse: ``177 metres -- Three Gorges
Water Inundation Line.'' > >It gives ominous notice of the largest
peacetime forced migration in history >-- the relocation of 1.2 million
people to make way for the gargantuan Three >Gorges dam. > >When
the Yangtze is partially blocked on Saturday for construction of the >world's
mightiest dam, the river will start its climb towards the marker, >consigning
hundreds of thousands of homes, farms and factories to a watery >mass
grave. > >Some 50,000 people have already abandoned their homes along
the river's >banks. > >A multitude of others will eventually be
forced from their ancestral lands >by a 600-km (365-mile) long lake
to be created by the dam near Yichang in >central Hubei province. >
>The river is expected to rise by 30-40 cm (12-16 inches) initially,
and >swelling water levels will force another 40,000 people to head
to higher >ground by the end of this year. > >HUMAN RIGHTS OUTRAGE
> >The forced eviction of families from their ancestral homes has
stirred deep >unease in China, where respect for one's forebears is
an overriding virtue. > >Abandoning the ground where ancestors lived,
died and were buried amounts to >sacrilege. > >China's communist
rulers fear popular wrath, and are struggling to convey a >sense of
caring and compassion. State media showed Premier Li Peng smiling >and
shaking hands with local residents this week. > >``It is vital to
solve the problem of resettlement,'' said Ou Huishu, deputy >director
of the resettlement bureau of Chongqing, China's largest metropolis >that
embraces Fuling. > >Activists opposed to the dam blast the relocation
as a violation of human >rights on a huge scale. > >``It will
definitely cause social unrest,'' said Dai Qing, an outspoken >critic
of the dam. > >Dai's 1989 book ``Yangtze! Yangtze!,'' which argues
the project is a >monstrous white elephant, has been banned in China.
> >Officials say the dam will propel China's economy into the 21st
century and >have pledged the relocation will bring greater prosperity.
> >Of the project's estimated 240 billion yuan ($29 billion) price
tag, some >100 billion yuan ($12 billion) is earmarked to compensate
residents for >their lost homes and to build new roads, water systems
and power lines. > >Authorities are pressuring successful companies
in China's more prosperous >coastal regions to open factories in resettled
areas to create jobs. > >``We are confident that we have the ability
to complete this historic >task,'' said Ou. > >TAKE-IT-OR-LEAVE-IT
> >Many Yangtze River residents reluctantly agree the dam will be
good for >China, but grumble about everything from the price of the
new concrete >houses and apartments to corruption among local officials
supervising the >scheme. > >Officials are offering take-it-or-leave-it
compensation deals that pay >farmers and city dwellers according to
floor space, rather than the market >value of their homes. > >``The
compensation doesn't cover the money I spent fixing up the place,'' >said
42-year-old tour boat captain Li Xingquan. > >In Sichuan province's
Guihua village, sweet potato farmer Guo Qingmu said >she was paid 15,000
yuan ($1,800) for her old 84 square metre (904 sq ft) >home, not nearly
enough to pay for a spacious new house with electricity and >tapwater.
> >Guo, 31, said she had to borrow more than 40,000 yuan ($4,800)
from family >and friends to buy her new home, which cost 60,000 yuan
($7,200) and is >twice the size of her former abode. > >``What
alternative do we have? Our homes will be flooded, so we have to come >here,''
said Guo's brother, Guo Qingfu. > >LEAVING ANCESTRAL LANDS > >Farmers
uprooted from fertile plots that grow some of China's best oranges >complain
about their new holdings on unwelcoming soil. > >``The newly-developed
land will be a little bit worse,'' conceded Zhou >Jinhua, mayor of Wanxian
city, which administers a vast area now home to >more than two thirds
of all the people doomed to be displaced. > >Farmers have each been
promised about 0.067 hectares (0.165 acres) of land. >But in some areas,
the supply of new farmland is inadequate, a problem >officials pledge
to solve by redistributing land now worked by farmers in >other villages.
> >Other officials concede it will be hard to overcome traditional
Chinese >attitudes towards ancestral homes. > >``The farmers are
used to living on their own land and don't really want to >move,'' said
Shi Huanyun, an education official in Wanxian county. > >``It is
not a money problem, it is a matter of feelings.'' >-------------------------
> > > >Monday November 3 6:59 AM EST > >China Three Gorges
dam gets new $220 mln loan > >BEIJING, Nov 3 (Reuters) - An international
bank consortium has signed a >$220 million loan agreement with China's
State Development Bank to fund the >purchase of generators for the Three
Gorges dam, the Economic Daily >reported. > >The consortium of
14 Asian and European banks was led by France's Societe >Generale (SOGN.PA)
and Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp (HSBA.L), the >newspaper said
in its November 2 edition. > >The loan had a 15-year term with a
nine-year grace period, the newspaper >said. > >Separately, the
State Development Bank had obtained another syndicated loan >worth $94.815
million from foreign banks for the dam, it said. > >That loan, which
had a 21-year term with a nine-year grace period, was >headed by Banque
Nationale de Paris and Midland Bank, it said. > >China's huge Three
Gorges dam on the Yangtze River is expected to cost 240 >billion yuan
($29 billion) when it is completed in 2009. > >China in August awarded
contracts to supply 14 700-megawatt generators worth >about $720 million
to several European and Canadian firms. >------------------------- >
> >Tuesday November 4 5:46 AM EST > >FEATURE-China twisting
arms to invest in dam area > >By Scott Hillis > >FULING, China,
Nov 4 (Reuters) - This Yangtze River city has no rail links >or modern
highways, its factories are decaying and its grimy downtown will >soon
be under water. > >So, why has a Chinese corporate success story
like Wahaha invested in three >factories in Fuling? > >China is
hoping Wahaha, and dozens of other companies like it, can prop up >the
Yangtze economy by creating jobs for some of the 1.2 million workers and
>farmers who will be uprooted by the gargantuan Three Gorges dam project.
> >More than 5,000 Fuling residents have already been evicted from
homes and >factories that will be flooded when the Yangtze is blocked
this Saturday so >work can start on the dam walls. > >Between
the dam site and the city of Chongqing, more than 1,000 factories >will
have to close or move to higher ground to make way for a 600-km (366 >mile)
long reservoir. > >Officials say the world's mightiest dam, with
18,200 megawatts of generating >capacity, will power China's economic
boom into the 21st century and bring >prosperity to the country's backward
heartland. > >POLITICAL DUTY > >The dam will take 12 years
to complete, but Beijing is now using >arm-twisting and policy sweeteners
to draw the country's best companies to >places like Fuling in the southwestern
province of Sichuan. > >Based far away in eastern Zhejiang province,
Wahaha is one of many >successful companies that have responded, albeit
reluctantly, to Beijing's >call for investment in the economic backwaters
of the Yangtze. > >``Without the Three Gorges, we would not have
come to Fuling,'' said Wang >Zhijian, general manager of the Fuling
Co Ltd Hangzhou Wahaha Group Corp. > >Wahaha is one of corporate
China's brightest stars, selling a variety of >beverages from children's
fruit milk to fiery sorghum liquor. > >``It is our political duty
as well as our economic duty,'' said Wang. ``The >factory should give
something back to society.'' > >Wahaha's gift to Fuling amounts to
40 million yuan ($4.8 million) investment >in three factories that have
hired 1,200 workers from doomed factories. > >The Fuling government
pitched in another 40 million yuan, and officials say >the city is already
reaping dividends. The average income of Wahaha workers >will reach
10,000 yuan this year, more than double the local average for >city
residents. > >Wang said more than 20 companies from Zhejiang province
had invested around >the Three Gorges reservoir. Firms have come from
as far afield as the >capital, Beijing. > >BACKWARD MINDSETS >
>Fuling is 90 km (55 miles) from the nearest metropolis, Chongqing,
and goods >headed to regional markets must be carried there by trucks
bouncing along >dilapidated highways or on boats fighting the Yangtze's
powerful currents. > >``The main problem is transportation,'' said
Wang. > >Wahaha, relying on tax breaks and its namebrand status,
has kept its head >above the water, earning nearly 27 million yuan in
profits in January to >September this year, on sales of more than 170
million yuan. > >Companies investing in the region must also grapple
with a workforce >unfamiliar with the ways of China's new generation
of highrolling, >profit-hungry businesses. > >In Wanxian, 170
km northeast of Fuling, diesel engine maker Changchai Co Ltd >has opened
a spacious new workshop that has absorbed about 300 workers from >the
soon-to-be inundated Three Gorges Diesel Engine Factory. > >Without
government pressure ``we definitely would not have come here,'' said >Wan
Taikun, vice-general manager of Changwan Diesel Motor Co Ltd. > >Retraining
workers had proved difficult, said Wan. ``There are problems with >people's
thinking here.'' > >Other problems boil down to plain old bad planning.
> >For instance, one of Wahaha's investments in Fuling was to overhaul
an >ageing and bankrupt candy factory to produce a sweet milk drink
popular >among Chinese children. > >The catch is the factory is
well below the highwater mark of the dam's >reservoir. > >``The
whole thing will be submerged,'' Wang said, adding that Wahaha will >eventually
move the equipment and workers to higher ground. >-------------------------
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Fri, 7 Nov
1997 14:31:53 -0800 From: patrick@irn.org (Patrick McCully) Message-Id:
Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 18:28:26 -0800 (PST) From: owner-irn-three-gorges@igc.org
To: "undisclosed-recipients:;"@igc.org > > BEIJING, Nov
3 (AFP) - Chinese Premier Li Peng has completed a >five-day tour of
the Three Gorges dam site that included visits to >resettlement communities
built for people displaced by the project, >Xinhua news agency said
Monday. > During the tour which ended Sunday, the premier hailed progress
>in resettling 1.2 million people from the planned reservoir zone but
>called for greater efforts to ensure their economic well-being. >
"More efforts should be made to make sure these people's >production
conditions are improved and their living standards >enhanced,"
the official news agency quoted him as saying. > The 200 billion yuan
(24 billion dollar) hydroelectric project, >the world's largest, would
enter a new stage after workers on the >site block the Yangtze river
on Saturday, he said. > The reservoir is due gradually to submerge 632
square kilometres >(253 square miles) of long-inhabited land between
next year and the >project's completion in 2009. > By the end of
1997 some 90,000 residents will have been >evacuated. > The government
has budgeted 40 billion yuan (4.8 billion >dollars) to compensate and
resettle residents, who could end up >numbering 1.8 million according
to some estimates. > The resettlement policy stresses economic development
in >addition to simple relocation and compensation, Xinhua said. >-=-=-
> >Organization: Copyright 1997 by Agence France-Presse >Subject:
Premier visits Three Gorges dam, resettled population Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="us-ascii" Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 19:31:19 -0800 From:
patrick@irn.org (Patrick McCully) Message-Id:
Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 19:31:25 -0800 From: patrick@irn.org (Patrick McCully)
Errors-To: owner-irn-three-gorges@igc.org To: irn-three-gorges@igc.org
> >Subject: China prepares to block Yangtze river for Three Gorges
dam >Organization: Copyright 1997 by Agence France-Presse >Date:
Sat, 1 Nov 1997 21:51:42 PST > > YICHANG, China, Nov 2 (AFP) - China
is making final preparations >to block the Yangtze River as part of
the construction of its vast >Three Gorges dam, the world's largest
and the subject of intense >criticism for its environmental and social
impact. > On Saturday, workers are scheduled to block off the natural
>channel of China's longest river by sealing a temporary coffer-dam
>-- a mighty wall of earth and rocks -- to divert the river into a >specially
dug canal. > The long-prepared move is a key step in the construction
of the >ambitious hydroelectric project. > "Timing is very crucial.
We cannot do it any earlier or any >later," Li Junlin, a senior
engineer at China Yangtze Three Gorges >Corp., said last week. >
Twenty 70-tonne trucks will close the remaining 40-metre >(132-foot)
gap in the coffer-dam near Sandouping in Hubei province >by dumping
in tonnes of rocks. > The blocking of the river will be a milestone
in the dam's >construction, which began in 1993 but first took hold
as a proposal >among China's communist leaders in 1956. > The road
so far has been dogged by controversy, with overseas >critics warning
of serious environmental and social damage from the >monumental project.
> A chief concern has been the resettlement forced by the dam's >reservoir,
which will eventually submerge 632 square kilometres (253 >square miles)
of land that has been inhabited for centuries. > Authorities have already
resettled 400,000 residents and more >than 100 factories from seven
counties, according to press reports. > By the dam's completion in 2009,
some 1.8 million people will >have been displaced at an estimated cost
of some 40 billion yuan >(4.8 billion dollars). > While human rights
watchdogs have for years warned that the >forced resettlement of people
off their ancestral lands would spark >unrest and social chaos, few
signs of resistance have emerged so >far. > The state media has hailed
improved living conditions and >economic prospects for those displaced.
Many have been rehoused in >specially built new resettlement communities
or have been allowed to >move to developing urban areas such as Chongqing.
> Ancient landmarks and countless archaeological treasures hidden >underground
will also disappear under the waters, however. > The weightiest debate
has surrounded the ecological impact of >the dam, with some environmentalists
claiming it could wipe out rare >species of river fish and touch off
uncontrollable silting. > Some engineers have warned that a massive
build-up of silt >around the dam could render its power-generating turbines
useless or >ultimately even cause the dam to collapse. > But Chinese
scientists have downplayed such problems and boasted >of efforts to
create special wildlife and fishery preserves to >compensate for disturbance
in the natural ecology. > Past concerns that the costs of the project
could spiral out of >control have largely been alleviated by drops in
China's inflation >rates over the last two years. The price tag for
the dam project >will be more than 200 billion yuan (24 billion dollars),
according >to most recent estimates. > The dam's main goal is to
meet central and eastern China's >fast-growing energy needs in one fell
swoop. > When all 26 of its generators are on-line in 2009, the project
>will have a an annual capacity of 18,200 megawatts -- the equivalent
>of 18 nuclear power plants. > The Itaipu dam that serves Brazil
and Paraguay, currently the >world's largest, produces just 12,600 megawatts.
> According to the official Xinhua news agency the hydroelectric >output
will eliminate the need for transporting and burning some 50 >million
tonnes of coal annually from northern coalfields, China's >dominant
energy source. > The power transmission grid that will fan out from
the dam alone >will cost 60 billion yuan (7.2 billion dollars) over
the next 10 >years. > Some 20,000 workers are involved in the construction
project. >The building of the main dam -- a 185-metre (610.5-foot) high
>concrete structure -- is due to begin at the end of 1998. >-=-=-
>
FOCUS-China blocks Yangtze for controversial dam
Copyright 1997 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. (Updates with blocking of river,
background, quotes) By William Kazer SANDOUPING, China, Nov 8 (Reuters)
- Firecrackers exploded over the Yangtze on Saturday as China blocked the
main channel of the world's third longest river to begin work on the mammoth
and controversial Three Gorges dam. China is trumpeting its success at
stemming the river's mighty flow with two temporary stone and earth dams
as proof of its technical prowess. It says the project will fuel industrial
growth in the country's Yangtze heartland. But critics maintain the dam
is an environmental nightmare. One billion tonnes of industrial and human
waste will flow into the dam's giant reservoir, and there are fears that
reduced water flow will turn the lake into a giant cesspool. Detractors
also charge that the forced relocation of 1.2 million residents is a human
rights disaster and say countless archaeological treasures will be lost
forever in a watery grave. Officials insist they have addressed all concerns,
saying jobs will be found for the displaced masses and environmental damage
will be minimal. President Jiang Zemin and Premier Li Peng stood on the
Yangtze's banks as a giant earthmover dumped the last load of stone and
gravel to fill a small gap and complete the second of two temporary dams
that now form a giant enclosure. "The blocking has been successful,"
said Li, the Chinese leader most closely associated with the project to
create the world's mightiest hydropower station. The dam is aimed at slaking
China's growing thirst for electricity and taming the killer floods of
the Yangtze, the world's third longest river behind the Nile and Amazon.
When completed in 12 years, the dam will pump out 18,200 megawatts of electricity
from its 26 generators, each one equal to a medium-sized nuclear reactor.
Jiang called the blockage a major milestone on a project that will stretch
to the year 2009 and is officially forecast to cost $29 billion. "The
age-old dream of the Chinese people to develop and utilise the resources
of the Three Gorges section of the Yangtze has come closer to being true,"
Jiang said at the ceremony. Revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen first proposed
building the dam in 1919, but daunting technical and social problems kept
the plan on the drawing boards for more than 60 years. Chinese leaders
are clearly concerned that the mass relocation of 1.2 million people could
spark social unrest. "A successful resettlement of the people affected
by the (dam) is a key to the progress and eventual success of the project,"
Jiang said at the river bank ceremony. The official Xinhua news agency
said work on the temporary dam had stopped briefly late on Saturday morning
when part of one wall slid slightly. Water will now be pumped out from
the enclosure to create a dry crater from which the towering concrete walls
of the 175-metre (574-foot) permanent dam will rise. The temporary dam
walls -- one upstream and the other downstream -- are an ambitious project
in themselves, requiring 11 million cubic metres (388 million cubic feet)
of rubble. They must be further raised and widened before next year's flood
season begins in May, when water levels could rise another 20 metres (66
feet). Workers did not completely block the Yangtze, as a diversion channel
was dug to allow cargo and passenger ships to ply the river. Once the dam
is completed, a shiplock and a shiplift will allow vessels to pass. REUTER
REUTERS
China blocks Yangtze River for controversial dam
Copyright 1997 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. SANDOUPING, China, Nov 8 (Reuters)
- China on Saturday blocked the main channel of the world's third longest
river, the Yangtze, to build the mammoth and controversial Three Gorges
dam. Chinese President Jiang Zemin, Premier Li Peng and other leaders attended
a ceremony on the Yangtze's banks as a giant earthmover dumped the last
load of stone and gravel to fill a small gap and complete a temporary dam.
"The blocking has been successful," said Li, the Chinese leader
most closely associated with the project to create the world's mightiest
hydropower station. Once water is drained from behind the temporary stone
and earth dam, a 175-metre (574-foot) permanent dam will begin rising from
the dry riverbed. The dam will pump out 18,200 megawatts of electricity
when it is completed in 2009, slaking China's growing thirst for energy.
China says it will also help tame the Yangtze's killer floods. Critics
say the dam will trap industrial and human waste, creating an environmental
disaster, and charge that the forced resettlement of 1.2 million people
is a violation of human rights on a large scale. REUTERS
Key facts about China's Three Gorges dam project
Copyright 1997 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. SANDOUPING, China, Nov 8 (Reuters)
- Chinese workers are feverishly toiling to block the main channel of the
Yangtze River in preparation for building the gargantuan Three Gorges dam.
Here are the key facts about the Three Gorges project, which will be the
world's mightiest hydropower station when it is completed in 2009: ++ The
river. At 5,989 km (3,720 miles), the Yangtze is China's longest and mightiest
river. It ranks third in the world in terms of both length and water flow.
Only the Nile and the Amazon are longer, and only the Amazon and the Congo
have bigger flows. ++ Power. The dam will be capable of pumping out 18,200
megawatts of electricty -- more than any other hydropower station in the
world. The current world champion is the Brazil-Paraguay Itaipu dam, which
can generate 12,600 megawatts. At the heart of the Three Gorges dam will
be 26 700-megawatt turbines, each one equal to a medium-sized nuclear power
station. ++ Size. The dam will rise some 175 metres (578 feet) above the
riverbed and stretch nearly two km (1.2 miles) between the two banks of
the Yangtze. Some 20,000 workers are toiling at the project site. They
will pour 27 million cubic metres (953 million cubic feet) of concrete
into the giant dam and its attached shiplocks. The project will also use
354,000 tonnes of rebar and another 281,000 tonnes of metal. ++ Price.
The dam's pricetag is estimated at 90 billion yuan ($10.8 billion) in 1993
terms. Officials have said that could rise to 240 billion yuan ($28.9 billion)
after taking into account interest and inflation. Some critics say the
final cost could soar to as much as 600 billion yuan ($72.3 billion). ++
Relocation. The 600 km (366 mile) long lake to be created by the dam will
displace at least 1.2 million people, flood some 28,000 hectares (69,000
acres) of crops and orchards, and submerge thousands of factories, garbage
dumps and mines. ++ Floods. One of the main functions of the dam is to
tame the Yangtze's killer floods, which have claimed hundreds of thousands
of lives this century. In 1931, a Yangtze flood killed 145,000 people.
Four years later, 142,000 people lost their lives to the river. Flooding
in 1954 killed 33,000 people and affected another 18.9 million.
China in countdown to block mighty Yangtze River
Copyright 1997 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 William Kazer SANDOUPING, China,
Nov 8 (Reuters) - China began its final drive on Saturday to block the
mighty Yangtze River for work on the Three Gorges dam -- the world's largest
hydroelectric power project. At 9.00 a.m. (0100 GMT), horns blared and
whistles sounded as a convoy of giant earthmovers began dumping its last
load of boulders into the Yangtze's muddy waters. Officials called the
blockage a major milestone on a project that will stretch to the year 2009
and is likely to cost $29 billion. China has said the massive Three Gorges
project will prove its technical prowess to the world. The project is aimed
at meeting China's growing thirst for electricity and taming the killer
floods of the Yangtze, the world's third longest river behind the Nile
and the Amazon. Construction workers in hard hats and curious onlookers
ringed the sprawling construction site as boulders rolled off the tilted
backs of earthmovers to fill a final 40-metre (131 foot) gap and form a
temporary dam. The official Xinhua news agency said work on the dam had
stopped briefly when part of one wall slid slightly late on Saturday morning.
"Suddenly, a small part at one side of coffer (temporary) dam upstream
downslided after a truckful of rocks and gravels were dumped into the water,"
Xinhua said. Xinhua said engineers had brought the sliding under control
and work on the dam had started again. Once the temporary dam is complete,
a 175-meter (574-foot) permanent dam will begin rising from the dry riverbed.
Workers will not completely block the Yangtze, as a diversion channel has
been dug to allow cargo and passenger ships to ply the river. Once the
dam is completed, a shiplock will allow vessels to pass. Later on Saturday,
Premier Li Peng is expected to attend a ceremony marking the completion
of the temporary dam. A field of helium balloons bobbed in the air, tugging
at anchor lines that ringed the reviewing stand built for Li and other
Chinese officials. Suspended from the ballons were banners proudly proclaiming
the names of companies that have taken a role in the damming the Yangtze
River. The man who pushed China on its fast growth economic drive, late
leader Deng Xiaoping, was also remembered on this occassion. "Hold
high the banner of Deng Xiaoping Theory," trumpeted a billboard from
a nearby hilltop. An inscription from Deng's handpicked successor, President
Jiang Zemin, towered over the reviewing stand, urging construction workers
to overcome adversity and bring the Three Gorges project to a successful
conclusion. On its completion in 2009, the dam will pump out 18,200 megawatts
of electricity from its 26 generators. Even the temporary dam is a huge
project in itself, calling for the use of some 11 million cubic metres
(388 million cubic feet) of stone and earth. It must still be raised and
widened before next year's flood season begins in May, when water levels
could rise another 20 metres (66 feet). "We are racing against time,"
said Li Junlin, senior engineer with the China Yangtze Three Gorges Corp
that is supervising construction. "We must raise and widen the cofferdam
by April," he told reporters. The dam has not been without controversy.
It will force the resettlement of 1.2 million people and submerge priceless
archaeological treasures in one of the most scenic areas of China. Critics
say the dam will trap industrial and human waste, creating an environmental
disaster, and add that a series of smaller dams of Yangtze tributaries
would be more practical. Engineers working on the project insist they have
addressed all of these concerns, saying they will find jobs for people
who are resettled and environmental damage will be minimal.
FOCUS-China says Three Gorges dam symbol of prowes
Copyright 1997 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. (Updates with colour, quotes from
dam site paras 12-14) By William Kazer YICHANG, China, Nov 7 (Reuters)
- China on Friday hailed the damming of the mighty Yangtze river, scheduled
for Saturday, as a major milestone in the world's biggest hydropower project
that will symbolise the nation's technical prowess. On Saturday, an army
of construction workers will block the main channel of the Yangtze, the
world's third longest river, in a high-profile ceremony to be attended
by Premier Li Peng and other Chinese leaders. The blocking of the river
will allow the building of the gargantuan Three Gorges dam, the core of
a $29 billion project aimed at slaking China's growing thirst for electric
power and taming the flood-prone Yangtze. "Tomorrow we will see this
important milestone," said Guo Xuyan, vice chairman of the Three Gorges
Construction Committee under the State Council, or cabinet. "This
project will prove that China has the technical ability to tackle the world's
largest hydropower project," Guo told reporters. Some 20,000 people
are working feverishly to keep on schedule the project that is due for
completion in 2009. It will force the relocation of 1.2 million people.
On Saturday, two enclosures will be joined to block the Yangtze. After
water is drained from the enclosure, the dam's concrete walls will rise
from the dry riverbed to a height of 185 metres (607 ft). The Yangtze,
which is only surpassed in length by the Nile and the Amazon, will not
be blocked entirely as a diversion channel has already been built. The
dam's 26 generators will turn out 18,200 megawatts of electricity, more
than any other hydropower station in the world. The first of the turbines
will roar into life in 2003, the rest are set to begin spinning six years
later. The dam will create a 600-km (371-mile) lake that will allow bigger
ships to ply the waterway and speed the economic development of the area.
On Friday, huge construction cranes towered over the dam site as a steady
stream of earthmoving trucks filed past. Barges chugged up the Yangtze
while sightseeing boats circled lazily to give their passengers a better
view. Tourist groups following their guides holding bullhorns trekked to
the top of a nearby peak for a glimpse of the sprawling construction site.
"This sure is a big project," said Dai Zuochun, a tourist from
neighbouring Hunan province who came with colleagues. The dam is said to
stem from the dreams of Sun Yat-sen, the revolutionary who toppled the
Qing dynasty in 1911, but the project in its modern form got the go-ahead
in 1992. Since then it has not been without controversy. Critics say a
series of smaller dams on Yangtze tributaries would be more efficient and
that the current blueprint will trap a vast pool of industrial and human
waste, creating an environmental nightmare. They also say it will needlessly
force the evacuation of people and submerge priceless archaeological treasures.
Officials brushed aside the criticisms. "We have already moved 94,000
people and we will have moved 100,000 by the end of the year," said
Qi Lin, director of resettlement under the State Council. "We can
guarantee the living standards of the people resettled," Qi said.
He conceded that not everyone who has been forced to move was happy with
the state's compensation plan, but said they would be better off than they
were now. "Some people want the dam to be made higher so their homes
will be flooded and they can benefit from these policies." The State
Council's Guo also shrugged off suggestions there had been little debate
on the project itself. "The experts had plenty of opportunity to make
their views known," he said.
China finds dam financing without U.S. Ex-Im Bank
Copyright 1997 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 William Kazer YICHANG, China,
Nov 7 (Reuters) - China has not asked the U.S. Export-Import Bank for credit
for the Three Gorges dam and has been able to obtain competitive financing
elsewhere, a top official of the company supervising the project said on
Friday. "We have not asked the U.S. Ex-Im bank to provide credit,"
said Lu Youmei, president of the China Yangtze Three Gorges Corp. "I
have heard the Ex-Im Bank does not support the project," he told reporters.
The U.S. Ex-Im Bank has ruled out providing credits for the $29 billion
project, fearing environmental damage. Under a 1992 U.S. law, the bank
must take environmental factors into account when assessing whether to
support a project. Lu suggested the Ex-Im Bank might have been misled by
public opinion in the United States or had been misinformed into viewing
the project negatively. He and other Chinese officials told reporters that
Beijing had focused its attention on the environmental impact of the huge
dam scheduled to be completed in 2009. They also said China had taken steps
to insure the 1.2 million people who would be relocated would not see a
decline in their living standards. Lu said that the project had not tapped
U.S. companies for the crucial generating equipment and that the chosen
suppliers had given attractive financing to China. China in August split
the deal for the 14 700-megawatt generating units between a group formed
by British-French GEC Alsthom and Swedish-Swiss ABB, and one involving
Germany's Siemens and Voith and General Electric Canada. The GEC Alsthom-ABB
group won the right to supply eight generators worth $420 million while
the Siemens-led consortium will provide six units worth $320 million. "The
terms and conditions (of the financing) are very favourable," Lu said.
He added that China had bought U.S. equipment for other parts of the project,
but had used its own foreign exchange. "We have bought U.S. equipment,"
he said. "The Three Gorges corporation is using its own foreign exchange."
China has already bought earth-moving equipment from Caterpillar of the
United States and concrete moving equipment from U.S.-based Rotec Industries.
REUTER REUTERS
FEATURE-China twisting arms to invest in dam area
Copyright 1997 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 Scott Hillis FULING, China, Nov
4 (Reuters) - This Yangtze River city has no rail links or modern highways,
its factories are decaying and its grimy downtown will soon be under water.
So, why has a Chinese corporate success story like Wahaha invested in three
factories in Fuling? China is hoping Wahaha, and dozens of other companies
like it, can prop up the Yangtze economy by creating jobs for some of the
1.2 million workers and farmers who will be uprooted by the gargantuan
Three Gorges dam project. More than 5,000 Fuling residents have already
been evicted from homes and factories that will be flooded when the Yangtze
is blocked this Saturday so work can start on the dam walls. Between the
dam site and the city of Chongqing, more than 1,000 factories will have
to close or move to higher ground to make way for a 600-km (366 mile) long
reservoir. Officials say the world's mightiest dam, with 18,200 megawatts
of generating capacity, will power China's economic boom into the 21st
century and bring prosperity to the country's backward heartland. POLITICAL
DUTY The dam will take 12 years to complete, but Beijing is now using arm-twisting
and policy sweeteners to draw the country's best companies to places like
Fuling in the southwestern province of Sichuan. Based far away in eastern
Zhejiang province, Wahaha is one of many successful companies that have
responded, albeit reluctantly, to Beijing's call for investment in the
economic backwaters of the Yangtze. "Without the Three Gorges, we
would not have come to Fuling," said Wang Zhijian, general manager
of the Fuling Co Ltd Hangzhou Wahaha Group Corp. Wahaha is one of corporate
China's brightest stars, selling a variety of beverages from children's
fruit milk to fiery sorghum liquor. "It is our political duty as well
as our economic duty," said Wang. "The factory should give something
back to society." Wahaha's gift to Fuling amounts to 40 million yuan
($4.8 million) investment in three factories that have hired 1,200 workers
from doomed factories. The Fuling government pitched in another 40 million
yuan, and officials say the city is already reaping dividends. The average
income of Wahaha workers will reach 10,000 yuan this year, more than double
the local average for city residents. Wang said more than 20 companies
from Zhejiang province had invested around the Three Gorges reservoir.
Firms have come from as far afield as the capital, Beijing. BACKWARD MINDSETS
Fuling is 90 km (55 miles) from the nearest metropolis, Chongqing, and
goods headed to regional markets must be carried there by trucks bouncing
along dilapidated highways or on boats fighting the Yangtze's powerful
currents. "The main problem is transportation," said Wang. Wahaha,
relying on tax breaks and its namebrand status, has kept its head above
the water, earning nearly 27 million yuan in profits in January to September
this year, on sales of more than 170 million yuan. Companies investing
in the region must also grapple with a workforce unfamiliar with the ways
of China's new generation of highrolling, profit-hungry businesses. In
Wanxian, 170 km northeast of Fuling, diesel engine maker Changchai Co Ltd
has opened a spacious new workshop that has absorbed about 300 workers
from the soon-to-be inundated Three Gorges Diesel Engine Factory. Without
government pressure "we definitely would not have come here,"
said Wan Taikun, vice-general manager of Changwan Diesel Motor Co Ltd.
Retraining workers had proved difficult, said Wan. "There are problems
with people's thinking here." Other problems boil down to plain old
bad planning. For instance, one of Wahaha's investments in Fuling was to
overhaul an ageing and bankrupt candy factory to produce a sweet milk drink
popular among Chinese children. The catch is the factory is well below
the highwater mark of the dam's reservoir. "The whole thing will be
submerged," Wang said, adding that Wahaha will eventually move the
equipment and workers to higher ground. ($1-8.3 yuan)
FEATURE-China Three Gorges dam, eco-boon or cesspo
Copyright 1997 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 Scott Hillis CHONGQING, China,
Nov 2 (Reuters) - It is already one of China's filthiest cities, but doomsday
prophets say this teeming Yangtze River metropolis is now destined to sit
on the shores of an immense cesspool formed by a dam hundreds of miles
(km) downstream. Environmental debate is still raging over the Three Gorges
dam, just days before the Yangtze is to be blocked so that workers can
begin pouring the concrete for its towering walls. Advocates say the world's
mightiest dam will tame an unruly waterway that has claimed 300,000 lives
this century alone, and that clean hydro-power will reduce China's reliance
on suplphur-belching coal power plants. Critics predict ecological catastrophe
for Chongqing and hundreds of other cities, towns and villages along the
river. Instead of a scenic man-made reservoir, they foresee a stinking
effluent lake filled with raw sewage and industrial chemicals backing up
for 600 km (372) miles behind the Three Gorges barrier. Silting, they say,
will block river drainage outlets in Chongqing: sewage will bubble up through
manholes and slosh through the streets of China's largest city. Some scientists
say the sheer weight of the huge lake could trigger an earthquake that
in a worst-case scenario would damage the dam and threaten millions of
people downstream. CRYSTAL WATERS TURN MURKY BROWN Water levels behind
the dam near Yichang in the central province of Hubei will eventually rise
to about 175 metres (575 feet) above sea level, submerging thousands of
old factory sites, garbage dumps and mines. Industrial Chongqing will loom
over the lake's western shores in the southwestern province of Sichuan.
Many of the millions of people who make their living along the Yangtze
fear that the vast amounts of industrial dross and sewage Chongqing pumps
into the river will lap against their homes and farms. "I am not worried
about much except the environmental pollution," said Li Xingquan,
the captain of a tourist steamer who has plied the Yangtze for 26 years.
China's economic boom of the last two decades has already taken its toll
on the river while intensive farming has further muddied the river's waters
by speeding up soil erosion. "When I swam in the river as a child,
I could cup the water in my hands and it would look like mineral water,"
Li said from his quarters aboard the tour boat 'Immigrant'. "Sometimes
I look at the river and I want to cry." ONE BILLION TONNES OF SEWAGE
Things are likely to get worse. Official estimates say one billion tonnes
of sewage will flow into the reservoir each year. Human waste, industrial
chemicals and heavy metals will be the main ingredients of this toxic soup.
Adding to the problem, the dam will dramatically slow waterflow from Chongqing
to Yichang, robbing the river of its natural self-cleaning mechanism that
now flushes sewage into the East China Sea. While acknowledging the problems,
China says the project will be good for the environment overall by reducing
reliance on coal, which supplies 75 percent of the country's energy needs.
The dam's 26 turbines -- the largest in the world -- will pump out 18,200
megawatts of electricity, equal to about 10 big coal-fired power stations
or 50 million tonnes of coal a year. Officials say the main function of
the dam is to tame the mighty Yangtze, which ranks only behind the Amazon
and the Congo in terms of water flow. Flooding in the Yangtze basin has
killed more than 300,000 people this century alone. SEWAGE TIMEBOMB So
far, 53,000 residents and more than 100 factories have been moved from
low-lying areas that will be inundated after the river is partially blocked
on November 8. Water levels behind the dam site are expected to rise about
30-40 cm (12-15 inches) after the blocking. MESSAGE TERMINATED
China readies worker army to block Yangtze River
Copyright 1997 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 Scott Hillis SANDOUPING, China,
Oct 30 (Reuters) - On the banks of China's Yangtze River, workers chipping
away with hammers and driving giant earthmovers are toiling around-the-clock
to block the waterway for construction of the giant Three Gorges Dam. A
steady stream of trucks is dumping tonnes of rocks and boulders into the
muddy, 20-metre (66-feet) deep water channel each day. Two opposing walls
will form an enclosure when they are completed on November 8 -- an event
that will be broadcast live on national television and attended by Premier
Li Peng, the Chinese leader associated most closely with the world's mightiest
dam. When the water has been drained away, the dam's massive concrete walls
will rise from the dry river-bed to a height of 185 metres (607 feet).
Beijing has aspired to the glory of a dam across the world's third longest
river, after the Nile and the Amazon, since revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen
first proposed it in 1919. It is trumpeting the blocking as one of the
great engineering feats of this century. Yet the river will not be blocked
completely on November 8 -- only between one shore and an island that now
stands towards the other bank. A narrow channel will allow cargo and tourist
ships to continue plying the Yangtze. That channel will be blocked later,
and two locks will eventually offer passage to vessels. Project engineers
said they chose early November to block the river because the chances of
rain derailing the ceremony by swelling the waterway was slight. "Timing
is essential," said Li Junlin, a senior engineer with the Project
Construction Co under the China Yangtze Three Gorges Corp. "But the
most difficult part is already past," Li said. The May to September
flood season hampered work on the "cofferdams" -- the temporary
barriers now being hastily completed. Launched in 1994, the Three Gorges
dam is the most ambitious civil engineering project in the world and will
take 15 years to complete. At Sandouping, the dam site in the central province
of Hubei, workers have blasted a 500-metre- (1,640 feet) wide pit that
will house 12 of the dam's 26 massive generators. Each of the largest generators
ever built will be capable of pumping out 800 megawatts of electricity,
equal to one medium-sized nuclear power station. The first turbines will
roar into life in 2003, and the last will begin spinning six years later.
Premier Li and other Chinese leaders are to fly to the dam site for an
official blocking ceremony. Billboards are everywhere at the sprawling
construction site. They bear patriotic slogans in huge red Chinese characters
inspiring workers to greater efforts. "Aspire to build the Three Gorges
Dam for our China," proclaims one sign. Proponents of the dam say
it is needed to help power the country's economic boom and to control devastating
floods that have killed hundreds of thousands of people in the past few
decades. Critics say it will wreak havoc with the Yangtze ecology. They
also condemn the forced relocation of some 1.2 million residents from a
vast area that will eventually become a 600 km (372-mile) reservoir behind
the dam wall. ($1-8.3 yuan)
From dams to highways, China builds a new future
Copyright 1997 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 Andrew Browne BEIJING, Oct 29
(Reuters) - From the world's biggest dam to the most feverish highway construction
binge in history, China's infrastructure plans reflect the ambitions of
an economic superpower in the making. Symbol of the rising Asian giant
is the gargantuan Three Gorges Dam along the Yangtze River, slated for
completion in 2009. More than one mile (1.6 km) wide, it will have the
muscle of 18 nuclear power stations by squeezing the world's third longest
river, after the Nile and the Amazon, through the heaviest turbines ever
built. The cost, officially, is around $30 billion: critics say the final
price tag could be as high as $75 billion. Whatever the figure, it represents
just a fraction of China's infrastructure spending over the next decade,
estimated by the World Bank at $740 billion -- almost equal to the country's
annual gross domestic product. Some $200 billion of that spending will
go on power, according to the World Bank. Also on the drawing boards are
airports -- five each year are planned over the next 10 years -- ports,
railways, bridges, telephone networks and satellite links. And sometime
over the next quarter century, Beijing's central planners say, a 35,000
km (21,748 miles) network of trunk highways will criss-cross the world's
most populous nation. Too ambitious? Consider China's astonishing success
in wiring the country for telephones. Five years ago, the country of 1.2
billion people had just 15 million telephone lines -- one for each urban
neighbourhood and almost none in the countryside. Now there are more than
100 million, and the speed of installation is picking up. By the end of
this century, another 75 million phone lines will be added. To quench the
nation's thirst for power, China for several years was installing generating
capacity each year equivalent to an Australia. In terms of installed power
capacity, China is now second only to the United States. And according
to James Spencer, Director of Sithe China Holdings, an investor in Chinese
power projects, "the potential is still enormous." Dreams of
raising finance for China's infrastructure spending spree have lured investment
banks from Wall Street to London to set up in Shanghai, the nation's financial
hub and home to the largest of its two stock markets. If China's blueprints
for modernisation are to get off the ground, the country will have to mobilise
its private savings and tap international markets. "The real financing
for this is going to have to come from the private sector," said George
Plant, Chief of Operations for the World Bank mission in Beijing. Stock
issues have so far been a huge success. Build-operate-transfer (BOT) schemes
have been tested successfully. "In the larger picture you're going
to have to develop bond markets," said Plant. China's capital markets
are relatively small and unsophisticated. Its banks lack the innovative
skills needed to package and sell massive infrastructure offerings. For
now, Hong Kong has become the main gateway for China to access global funding.
Stock investors in the territory have devoured Chinese infrastructure plays.
These include toll highways and, this month, the biggest ever offering
on the Hong Kong market -- China Telecom (Hong Kong) Ltd, which operates
mobile phone services in two Chinese provinces. The China Telecom offering
was worth around $4 billion, and little wonder investors snapped it up.
China's mobile telephone market is growing by 150 percent each year. BOT
schemes have been tested for highways and bridges; now the Chinese government
is extending the experiment to power and water treatment projects too.
This month, Shanghai turned on the tap for the country's first BOT water
treatment facility. Britain's Thames Water has a 20-year contract to operate
the $68 million plant, built by Bovis Construction Group. Last month China
signed its first ever BOT power deal, a $600 million project with Electricite
de France (EdF). ($1.0 - 8.3 yuan) REUTERS
China begins to dam Yellow River - China's sorrow
Copyright 1997 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 26 (Reuters) - China
on Sunday began blocking the Yellow River -- known as China's sorrow for
its catastrophic floods throughout history that have claimed millions of
lives. The $4.17 billion water control project in central Henan province
is China's largest after the huge Three Gorges dam, for which the work
on diverting the mighty Yangtze river is due to begin later this week.
The Xiaolangdi dam project on the Yellow River is among the most technically
complicated that China has ever undertaken, involving an intricate network
of tunnels threading through its banks. The blocking of the river began
when six trucks emptied their loads into the river and the task is expected
to take 42 hours to complete with Chinese and foreign engineers and labourers
working round the clock. Work will then begin on the 154-metre (500-ft)
high earth-filled dam, the Xinhua news agency said. The project will control
93 percent of the river's drainage area and be able to handle huge floods
that may occur every 1,000 years, the Xinhua news agency said. The World
Bank is supplying a $1.0 billion loan for the project that will enable
dam operators to regulate the Yellow River's notoriously fitful flow and
another $109 million will come from foreign commercial credits. The dam
has a complex web of 16 tunnels burrowing through the river's left bank
and these will be used to regulate its huge silt load and erratic water
flow, fluctuating between a dawdling 1,500 cubic metres (53,000 cubic ft)
per second and a raging 16,000 cubic metres (565,000 cubic ft) per second.
The complex tunnel system has made the project the largest and most complex
of its kind in the world, Xinhua quoted Lin Xiushan, president of the Survey,
Planning, Design and Research Institute of the Yellow River Conservation
Commission, as saying. The river's floods have killed more than 800,000
in the last five decades. The river has overflowed its bank more than 1,500
times in the last 2,000 years and has seen 26 major changes in its course
that have killed millions more. Beijing spends $1.2 billion each decade
to shore up the banks of a river that rises 10 cm (four inches) a year
and in many places looms perilously over cities that lie under the shadow
of the dikes that hold it in. The flow of the river was regarded as suitable
for damming and Xinhua quoted officials as saying that the flow on Sunday
was even lower than the required standard, making Sunday's work much easier.
Some 40,000 people living the area have been resettled to make way for
a 12.5-billion-cubic-metre (441 billion-cubic-ft) reservoir behind that
dam that is to serve as a catch basin for the silt and will be capable
of holding 7.5 billion cubic metres (265 billion cubic ft) of sediment
before it finally fills up after about 30 years, officials have said. Next
Saturday, Chinese engineers are to begin the huge task of diverting the
Yangtze river to allow them to build the world's biggest water control
project. REUTER
China to block Yangtze River in Novembe
Copyright 1997 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 14 (Reuters) - China's
cabinet has approved a proposal to block the Yangtze River on November
8 for construction of the world's largest water control project, the Xinhua
news agency said on Tuesday. Xinhua quoted Premier Li Peng as saying the
giant Three Gorges dam project had proceeded smoothly in the past five
years, the design for blocking the river was feasible and the resettlement
of local residents had gone well. A canal built to permit navigation on
the Yangtze after the river is blocked was due to open to traffic in October,
state media has said. The dam, scheduled for completion in 2009, would
create a gigantic reservoir on the middle of the Yangtze -- China's longest
river -- evicting one million local residents. Critics of the controversial
project say an earthquake caused by the concentrated weight of silt and
water behind the dam could burst the dam and lead to a catastrophic flood
wiping out thousands of towns and villages. REUTERS
China's Yangtze dam seen part of national grid
Copyright 1997 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 5 (Reuter) - China plans
to invest 60 billion yuan ($7.2 billion) on an electricity distribution
network from the planned Three Gorges dam as part of a wider effort to
create a national grid, an official newspaper said on Sunday. The world's
largest water control project on the Yangtze river, set for completion
by 2009, will have installed capacity of 18,200 megawatts, the China Daily
Businsess Weekly reported. Of this, 12,000 megawatts will flow to central
China, 4,200 megawatts to eastern China and 2,000 megawatts to the Yangtze
river city of Chongqing, the paper said. A total of 13 alternating current
lines and two direct current lines will be required, the paper quoted Zhou
Xiaoqian, president of China Power Grid Development Co Ltd, as saying.
Technology and equipment for the alternating lines will be mostly domestic,
with some imports of switches, while the direct lines will use mostly imported
equipment, Zhou said. Work is scheduled to be completed by 2008. In addition
to the Three Gorges power plant, two smaller facilities are planned in
the upper reaches of the Yangtze in Xiangjiaba and Xiluodu with installed
capacity of 20,400 megawatts, Zhou said. Zhou said his company was preparing
a feasibility study for transmission systems from those stations. There
are now 12 large grids in China, the newspaper said. Six cover the northeast,
north, northwest, central, eastern and southern areas. Six cover the provinces
of Shandong, Fujian, Hainan, Sichuan and Xinjiang, and the region of Tibet.
The Three Gorges plant will be integrated with the central and eastern
grids. The Ministry of Power Industry was considering integrating the northeast
and northern grids, the paper said. By 2010 there will be three large grids
in China covering the north, the centre and the south. Construction work
on the 175 metre (578 feet) high Three Gorges dam is under way, and final
preparations are in place to divert the mighty Yangtze river around the
site in November.