Thaindian News

Beijing, June 22 (IANS) China is building four hydroelectric dams with a generating capacity double that of the Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest power station in terms of installed or production capacity, the Shanghai Daily reported Tuesday.

These hydroelectric dams are being built on Jinsha river, a tributary of the Yangtze, the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world.

The four hydro stations, with a total installed capacity of 43 million kilowatts, will supply 190 billion kw hours of electricity a year after completion, the Beijing News cited the China Three Gorges Corp as saying Monday.

Of the four dams in the lower reaches of the river in Sichuan province, Xiangjiaba and Xiluodu hydropower stations will start operating in 2012 and 2013. Preparations are under way for the two other stations in Wudongde and Baihetan.

Preventing floods and fighting drought are the two most important tasks of the Three Gorges Dam, said Chen Fei, general manager of the China Three Gorges Corp.

Its other functions include ensuring water supplies to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze river and safety of fisheries, Chen said.

“We are closely monitoring the climate change in the 1.8 million square metres along the Yangtze to better prepare for more severe floods,” Chen told the newspaper.

The Three Gorges Dam discharged more than 20 billion cubic metres of water to alleviate the spring drought this year, the worst in half a century along the Yangtze river, Cao Guangjing, the company’s chairman, said.