Three Gorges Dam

When construction is completed in 2009, the Three Gorges Dam will be the largest hydroelectric dam in the world. Spanning Asia's longest river, the Yangtze, at Sandouping, Yichang, Hubei Province, the Three Gorges Dam will be 1.45 miles wide, 607 feet in height, and have 26 generating units with a combined capacity of 18.2 million kilowatts, producing 84.7 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. When the reservoir created by the dam is filled, its waters will rise to be 574 feet deep and stretch for some 360 miles, flooding thousands of villages over 243 square miles of land, and displacing roughly 1.2 million peasants. A system of ship locks are intended to bring ocean liners from Shanghai 1,500 miles inland to the city of Chongqing, which was promoted to a provincial-level municipality under direct central control in 1997 in part to coordinate the resettlement of refugees from the dam. Official cost estimates for the project are roughly U.S. $25 billion.

Construction of the Three Gorges Dam was first proposed in 1919 by the father of modern China, Sun Yatsen. Serious planning began in the 1930s, and toward the end of World War II, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's chief design engineer conducted a major study. It was hoped that the dam would provide both electricity and relief from the long history of devastating summer floods along the Yangtze. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Mao Zedong pushed for the building of the monumental dam as a symbol of national pride and human mastery over nature. A sharp debate emerged in the mid-1950s, however, between leaders who opposed the project on technical grounds and favored a series of smaller dams instead, and those who favored the project. Soon after, the economic depression of the Great Leap Forward and political upheavals of the Cultural Revolution put the plans on hold. Debates were revived after the death of Mao and the beginning of economic reform. Momentum picked up as Deng Xiaoping became an enthusiastic supporter of the dam, though there continued to be bitter disagreement on whether, when, and at what height the dam should be built, as well as how the surrounding area should be administered.

In 1986 a study commissioned by the government and funded by the Canadian International Development Agency concluded that the dam was feasible. This moved the project closer to implementation but also sparked a vocal debate within China, coinciding with China's democracy movement and growing international opposition to large dams. The State Council agreed in 1989 to suspend construction plans for five years, but this changed after the crackdown on Tiananmen Square, which led to the arrest of journalist Dai Qing and other critics, and silenced opposition to the dam. With a strong push from Premier Li Peng, the State Council and Politburo approved the project in 1992. Three months later, the National People's Congress (NPC) approved the project with a vote of 1,767 yes, 177 no, and 664 abstentions. This was an unprecedented level of dissent for the NPC, which generally rubber stamps leaders' proposals. Construction has proceeded in three stages over 17 years. From [Page 1728]1993–97, the river was diverted; at the end of the second phase, 1998–2003, the first group of generators began to produce power, and a permanent ship lock opened for navigation; and in 2004–09, the entire project is to be completed. Corruption scandals and poor construction have plagued the project. In 1999 a bridge collapsed and a crack developed in the dam; in 2000, officials were arrested for extortion, kickbacks, and embezzling resettlement program money.

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