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China Builds Gigantic Hydropower Plant
Construction of a gigantic Longtan hydropower plant will begin on July 1 as scheduled in south China' s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Upon completion in 2009, the Longtan hydropower station will be the second largest in size in China and in Asia after only the Three Gorges Project on the Yangtze River.
Situated on the Hongshui River in Tian'e) Count of Guangxi, the Longtan hydropower project is just one of the tiered hydropower stations planned to explore rich hydro-electric resources on the river.
"The project is the fruit of all the designers in the country," said Feng Shurong, general engineer of the project. "More than 300 of the most outstanding scientists, designers, and technical staff throughout the country participated in it."
"The project, which is completely designed by Chinese scientists, will mark a milestone in history," Feng said.
The hydropower project will mainly consist of a concrete dam, flood discharge works, power generating workshops, as well as navigation facilities.
It will have a combined installed capacity of 5.4 million kilowatts. According to the construction plan, in 2003 water will be diverted from the mainstream of the river to make way for further construction on the Longtan hydropower plant. The first generator at the hydropower project will be able to generate electricity in June 2007.
The project will take nine years to finish and cost 26.4 billion yuan (about US$3.18 billion), of which, 19.76 billion yuan (about US$2.38 billion) will be covered by loans provided by four state-owned Chinese banks, including the Bank of China (BOC) and the China Construction Bank.
The Longtan hydropower station will act as a vital role in the national power grid and an important part in the country's drive to send electricity from resource-rich western regions to economically developed eastern areas, said officials with the project.
Officials added that the project would promote local economic development and benefit 10 million local residents who live in poor areas of Guangxi and Guizhou Province along both banks of the Hongshui River.
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