The Three Gorges Dam Project
Three Gorges Dam The largest dam in the world. Over a mile and a half long and 600 feet high. Has displaced over 1.5 million people. Located on the Yangtze River in the Three Gorges Region.
Statistics Type of Dam: Gravity Materials: Concrete Location: The Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, longest river in Asia, 3,900 miles long Estimated Completion: 2009; 17 years to complete Cost: $36 billion, estimates vary Reservoir: 370 miles long; not named Width: 1.24 mile-wide structure across the Yangtze R.; 6,864 feet, 5 times as wide as Hoover Dam Height: 610 feet above the valley floor
More Statistics Energy Production: 84 billion kilowatt hours per year; enough to supply 11-15% of China's energy Work Force: 40,000 people Impact: Flooding 13 cities, 140 towns, and 1,352 villages, 657 factories, and 30,000 hectares of cultivated land. In addition, thousands of historical and archaeological treasures will be submerged. Human Impact: 1.3 million people to be relocated in 3 stages in 1997, 2003 & 2009.
Flood control Power generation Fishery in the reservoir Navigation improvement Economic increases Tourism and recreational activities Benefits
Terrorists target Resettlement of 1.3 million people Landslides and/or earthquake risks Flooded ecological habitats and archeological treasures Sewage & pollution & sedimentation Risk of spillway failure or dam failure Change of water temperature Cost / financing Criticism