The Three Gorges Project across the Yangtze River China - Case Study Example

The Three Gorges Project Introduction: In the Three Gorges Project across the Yangtze River China has undertaken the greatest project in its history, since the construction of the Great Wall of China. The Three Gorges Project will create the largest hydroelectric power generation station and dam that the world has ever seen. The concrete dam of the project will stretch across more than a mile and the reservoir will be three hundred and seventy miles long and five hundred and twenty-five feet deep. The cost of the project will exceed the cost of any other single construction project undertaken so far in the history of humanity. Such a project should inspire awe and admiration. However since its conception the Three Gorges Project, which fulfills a longstanding dream of China, has been mired with controversies over the benefits that the project would provide to China in contrast to the damage that the project would do to the environment and historical sites of China. The project continues despite the continued arguments between the proponents of the Three Gorges Project and the opponents of it. Description of the Three Gorges Project: The mighty Yangtze River flows over a distance of 6,380 kilometers, making it the longest river in China, and the third longest in the world. Chinese civilization originated from its banks. At Yichang, China the Yangtze River is at its most impressive in the form of the Qutang Gorge, Wuxia Gorge, and Xiling Gorge, which together constitute the Sanxa or the Three Gorges. The Three Gorges projected is located at this site. The project started in 1994 and is expected to take twenty years to completion, which is slated for 2014. The project is estimated to cost more than twenty-four billion dollars. (Three Gorges). The Yangtze River causes severe devastation as a result of severe floods that occur periodically. The Three Gorges Project is expected to provide respite from flooding of the Yangtze River. The initial proposal for constructing a dam at this site goes back to Dr. Sun Yat Sen in 1919. Political turmoil that led to the overthrow of Sun Yat Sen ended his dream, but from 1954 onwards Chinese and foreign scientists have evaluated the feasibility, planning and design of a dam at the Three Gorges Site. Four decades later the Three Gorges Projects was to take off. (Three Gorges Dam). The Three Gorges Project constitutes the largest water conservation project undertaken, dwarfing any of the other water conservation projects. The concrete work involved totals 26.43 million cubic meters. In addition The Three Gorges project requires the removal of 102.59 million cubic meters of stone and earth, and filling of 29.33 cubic meters of stone and earthwork, mixing and filling of 27.15 million cubic meters of cement, erection of 281,000 tons of metal structures, creation and erection of 354,000 tons of reinforcing bars, and the building of 231.000 square meters of leak-proof concrete walls. The work is expected to require the services of 250,000 workers experienced in the construction and of water conservation and hydropower plants. Power generators with a total capacity 18.2 million kilowatts will be installed to generate the targeted hydropower generation from the Three Gorges Project. The number of generators planned for Three Gorges Project is twenty-six, each with a generation capacity of 700.000 kilo watts. The installation of these generators is slated for the left and right banks of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station. The average annual power expected to be generated through these generators is 84.68 billion kilowatt hours, which constitutes a seventh of the total power generated in China in 1992. The power generated through the Three Gorges Hydropower Station will be added on to the eastern and central power grids, and is expected to augment the supply of power for the growing needs of the fast developing economy of China. The Three Gorges Project has been planned in three stages spread over seventeen years. The preparatory and first phase of the project constitutes the first stage of the project, and was spread through the years 1993 to 1997. The preliminary phase began in 1993, and the first stage of the project in 1994. The completion of the first stage was completed when the Yangtze River was dammed to allow the work on the other stages to start. The second stage was planned to be executed between 1998 and 2003, with the completion of the stage being marked by the completion of the first generation unit in the left bank power plant and operating of the permanent ship lock. The third stage and final stage was planned to be executed between the years 2004 and 2009, and the completion of the project marked by the installation and running of all the twenty-six generators. However slippages in the second stage have seen the target date for the completion of the Three Gorges Project pushed back by five years to 2014. (Facts and Statistics about the Three Gorges). The Real Secret behind the Three Gorges Project: The Civil War in China prevented the Nationalist government from fulfilling Sun Yat Sen’s ambition to build a dam across the Yangtze River at the Three Gorges. The subsequent Chinese leaders did not revive the plans for the dam across the Yangtze River, because of their experience of dangerous build up of sediments in the Sanmenxia reservoir built across the Yellow River, and the increased flooding in the Weihe valley, as a result of Sanmexia reservoir. This made even the strong willed Mao Zedong cautious and the Three Gorges Project never took off in his time. The decision in favor of the Three Gorges Project was taken when China was under the influence of Deng Xiaoping. Yet it would be untrue to say that Deng Xiaoping was responsible for the mammoth size of the project, as it stands. He favored a dam not doubt, but wanted the height of the reservoir restricted to one hundred and fifty meters. His support for the building of the dam was taken, but his preference for a smaller project ignored. The critical part of the secret behind the Three Gorges Project is in the manner in which the support of Deng Xiaoping was secured for the Three Gorges Project by the proponents for building a dam across the Yangtze River. The Three Gorges Project was virtually sold to Deng Xiaoping just as sales person would sell his products. The benefits of the dam were highlighted and may have been even exaggerated, while keeping the detrimental effects and cost of the dam hidden from him. The final sales pitch was in playing to his emotions. Deng Xiaoping was a native of the Sichuan province. The Yangtze River for hundreds of years had provided the link for Sichuan and the outside world. Among the benefits of the Three Gorges Projects that were projected to Deng Xiaoping was the benefit that ten thousand ton shipping vessels would be able to reach Chongqing, the biggest city in the Sichuan province as a result of the Three Gorges Project. Deng Xiaoping, the native of Sichuan, was thrilled that the Three Gorges Project would enhance the link to the outside world for Sichuan, through the greater shipping possibilities that he was sold on the idea of the Three Gorges Project, and gave his support for it. His support was crucial for making the Three Gorges Project a reality, and it was got in this manner. (Quing, D. 2005) Features of Success of the Three Gorges Project: The economic resurgence of China has been to admirable proportions. With a resurgent economy comes the demand for more energy, as the affluence of the citizens creates this demand. Increased use of fossil fuels is the normal means of meeting surges in energy demands, and with it the increased detrimental effects of the burning of fossil fuels. At the turn of the new millennium the electricity generated from the Gezhouba Hydropower station, which is part of the Three Gorges Project had exceeded 16 billion Kwh. This contribution of cleaner energy to meet the domestic consumption needs one feature of the success of the Three Gorges Project. The construction work involved in the Three Gorges Project is massive. Planning and implementing such a huge project calls for expertise, skills, and logistics beyond normal proportions. That this has been made available and is an integral part of the Three Gorges Project can be seen from the upsurge in concrete pouring rising to 5481.7 thousand cubic meters, and thereby exceeding the planned target by 5.41 percent, and setting a new world record by this effort. (Minghua, D. 2001). The Three Gorges Dam across the Yangtze River has been has been completed and this was marked by the demolishing of the upstream temporary dam across the Yangtze River in 2006. The demolishing of this temporary dam will allow water to rise to height of 155 meters in the Three Gorges Dam. (Yangtze rises with explosion of dam near Three Gorges). Features of Failures of the Three Gorges Project: Resettlement of people that lived and thrived along the Yangtze River, and would be affected by the Three Gorges Project was considered to be an issue of serious concern with regard to the Three Gorges Project. In spite of the time and efforts of the administration and the spending of huge amounts of money the resettlement program has not proceeded along the desired lines leading to protests from the people affected by the Three Gorges Project. Several construction flaws have been detected in the construction in the Three Gorges. This causes alarm as construction flaws in such a massive project could have devastating consequences. The generation of power at the Gezhouba hydro-electric plant of the Three Gorges Project is commendable, but the power generated is not being used. In 1998 the loss of $12.5 million was reported by the plant as a result of unsold 2 billion kilo-watts of electric power. The areas affected by the Three Gorges Project contain a lot of relics of the old civilizations that existed in these areas. Conserving these relics requires sufficient funding, but the sufficient finances to take up the effort have been found to be lacking. (Adams, P & Lu, M. 1999). Environmental concerns are one of the major issues in connection with the Three Gorges Project. Yet these concerns are not addressed sufficiently and can be seen on the demolition of the temporary dam across the Yangtze River in 2006. This demolition dumped 190,000 cubic meters of concrete debris into the river causing environmental concern for the settlements in the surrounding areas. (Yangtze rises with explosion of dam near Three Gorges). Future Benefits: Energy is a growing concern all around the world, and particularly so with China taking into consideration its massive population and admirable economic growth. Use of fossil fuels only to meet the growing demand for energy has its disadvantages. Coupled with this are the poor quality of coal available in China, and the appalling mining conditions making coal mine accidents and loss of life a frequent occurrence. The Three Gorges Project with its massive potential for hydro-electric power provides the benefit of meeting the growing energy requirements in a cleaner manner. (Dreyer, J. T. 2004). The Yangtze River is one of the wildest rivers in the world causing devastating flooding along its middle and lower reaches. The Three Gorges Project offers the benefit of taming this wild river and reducing the impact of flooding. Water commerce is another benefit that the Three Gorges Project offers. It will improve the navigation along 1500 miles of the river from Shanghai in the coast to the hinterland city of Chongqing. This improved navigation will provide the means for enhancing the current levels of shipping of ten million tons a year to fifty million tones a year between the hinterland and the coast. (Challman. D. 2000) . Future Problems: Environmental issues constitute the majority of the problems that the Three Gorges Dam portends for the future. The earlier experience of the Sanmenxia dam in terms of sedimentation and damage to industrial and agricultural production is a major fear with the Three Gorges Project. The middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River are the breeding grounds of different varieties of carp, and home to the rare species of Lipotes-vexillifer, Chinese paddlefish and sturgeon, which are already under the threat of extinction. The Three Gorges Dam will further threaten the existence of some of these rare species of fish and will have a negative impact on the others. Relics and sites of ancient civilization are also threatened by threatened by the Three Gorges Dam. Some of the sites are definitely going to be lost, but saving the relics and the rest of the sites is a problem that needs resolving. In addition there is going to be loss from tourism revenue, when these ancient relics and sites are either threatened or lost by the Three Gorges dam (Jianhong, Z.) Future Opportunities: One of the major issues facing the Chinese administration is the disparity in the development that has occurred between the coastal and hinterland regions of the country, with the coastal regions showing tremendous development in comparison to the hinterland, and so there have been protests from the hinterland populations. The resettlement program moves much of the hinterland population from fertile agricultural land to rocky and less fertile areas, which means that agricultural activity and production in this hinterland region will dip. However this problem presents a window of opportunity for the Chinese administration to address developmental issues for these people. There is ample power going to be available from the hydroelectric power generation of the Three Gorges Project. There is also going to be enhanced shipping between this region and the coastal regions as a result of improved navigation possible from the Three Gorges Project. Thus power for industrial activity and logistics for movement of finished products will be available. These benefits of the Three Gorges Project need to be converted into an opportunity for creation of appropriate industrial activity to increase the development of this hinterland region and reduce the issue of disparity between the economic growth of this hinterland region and the coastal areas. (Challman. D. 2000). Conclusion: The Three Gorges Project has been a subject of controversy, but that it is a reality is for sure. The issue now at hand for the Chinese Administration is to reduce the impact of the problems that the Three Gorges Project is likely to create, and make the use of the benefits that accrue from it to create opportunities and utilize these opportunities towards development. In case this does not happen one wonders whether the Chinese would rue the decision in favor of going ahead with the Three Gorges Project. Literary References Adams, P. & Lu. M. (1999). Three Gorges Probe. Retrieved February 16, 2007, from. PROBE international. Web site: http://www.threegorgesprobe.org/probeint/ThreeGorges/tgp/tgp7.htm Challman. D. (2000). THE WHOLE DAM STORY: A review of the China Yangtze Three Gorges Dam, Energia, 11(1), 1-4. Dreyer, J. T. (2004). The Limits to China’s Growth. Retrieved February 16, 2007, from, Foreign Policy Research Institute. Web site: http://fpri.org/orbis/4802/dreyer.limitschinagrowth.pdf Facts and Statistics about the Three Gorges. 2003. Retrieved February 16, 2007, from, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in India. Web site: http://in.china-embassy.org/eng/ssygd/sxgc/t60759.htm Jianhong, Z. THE THREE GORGES PROJECT: AN ENORMOUS ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER. Retrieved February 16, 2007, FROM, PROBE international. Web site: http://www.probeinternational.org/pi/documents/three_gorges/Yangtze/ch19.html Minghua, D. (2001). Great Success Marked in Three Gorges Project Construction. Retrieved February 16, 2007, from, People’s Daily. Web site: http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/200102/28/eng20010228_63657.html Quing, D. (2005). Three Gorges and the environment. Retrieved February 16, 2007, from, Three Gorges Probe news service. Web site: http://www.probeinternational.org/tgp/index.cfm?DSP=content&ContentID=14062 Three Gorges. Retrieved February 16, 2007, from, The Internet for Civil Engineers. Web site: http://www.icivilengineer.com/Big_Project_Watch/Three_Gorges/ Three Gorges Dam. Retrieved February 16, 2007, from, TED Case Studies. Web site: http://www.american.edu/ted/threedam.htm Yangtze rises with explosion of dam near Three Gorges. 2006. Retrieved February 16, 2007, from, CBC news. Web Site: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/06/06/three-gorges.html Read More