Three Gorges Project to generate more electricity
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-22 21:31

China Yangtze River Three Gorges Project Development Corporation announced on Tuesday that it would raise the aggregate power production output target during the 2006-2010 period to 360 billion kw/hours.

That will represent a rise of 45.8 billion kh/hours of electricity over the original plan, said Bi Yaxiong, deputy general manager of the corporation.

Launched in 1993, the Three Gorges Project, including a 185-meter-high dam and 26 generators on both banks of the river, is being built in three phases on the middle reaches of China`s longest river, the Yangtze.

The gigantic Three Gorges Project is estimated to cost 180 billion yuan (approximately 21.7 billion US dollars) and will have a combined generating capacity of 18.2 million kw.

According to a construction schedule, the Three Gorges Project will be able to generate 84.7 billion kwh of electric power annually when it is completed in 2009.

So far, construction has been focused on the northern bank of the Yangtze, where 14 turbo-generators have been installed and started power generation by September 16, this year.

Twelve more turbo-generators will be installed on the southern bank of the Yangtze. It is expected that the first generator on the southern bank of the river will begin power production in 2007. All 12 generators on the southern bank will complete installation and begin power production in 2008, one year ahead of schedule, said the corporate executive.

The Three Gorges Project company, together with the Gezhouba power plant, is now capable of generating between 240 million kw/hours and 250 million kw/hours of electricity daily, equivalent to one 20th of the country`s daily actual power consumption.