Two German engineering companies have won contracts to jointly design the world's largest shiplift project for the world's largest hydropower project the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River.

The agreements have been confirmed by both China Yangtze River Three Gorges Development Corporation, developer of the project, and the Survey and Design Institute of the Yangtze Water Resources Committee (YWRC).

The vertical hoisting shiplift will raise vessels to the higher water level on the upstream side of the dam much more quickly than the current five-stage shiplock.

China completed construction of the world's largest dam on Saturday in the Three Gorges area, Central China's Hubei Province, signifying a milestone accomplishment in the mammoth Three Gorges water control project that aims to tame the flood-prone Yangtze River, the nation's longest.

At 2 pm on Saturday, the final concrete was poured for the 2,309-metre-long, 185-metre-high main wall of the Three Gorges Dam.

The shiplift is the first Sino-foreign co-operation programme in the designing of China's self-developed Three Gorges Hydropower Project, on which construction began in 1994.

The two German companies, Lahmeyeb and Krebs und Kiefer (K & K), have been entrusted to submit designs for the ship-container part of the structure by the end of this year, according to the project undertaker.

"The introduction of foreign cooperation in the project designing is aimed at safety guarantee," said Li Yong'an, general manager of the China Yangtze River Three Gorges Development Corporation in an exclusive interview.

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)