US$4.7 billion set for Three Gorges clean-up

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 ◆ US$4.7 billion set for Three Gorges clean-up

The State Council approved this week a 10-year programme designed to reduce water pollution in the Three Gorges area and its upper reaches areas.

A budget of 39.22 billion yuan (US$4.7 billion) is planned for the project, according to sources with the State Environmental Protection Administration.

The Three Gorges Hydropower Plant on the Yangtze River will have a total installed capacity of 18.2 million kilowatts and will be able to generate 84.68 kilowatt hours of electricity at full operation. When completed, it will be the world"s largest hydropower plant.

According to earlier plans, the hydropower plant will retain water to a level of 135 metres in the reservoir by June 2003.

However, garbage and industrial solid waste have posed a serious problem to the water quality in the reservoir.

Each year, the Three Gorges area and its upper reaches areas produce 6.58 million tons of garbage and 9.78 million tons of industrial solid waste.

At least 30 million tons of industrial solid waste has been piled up on the banks of the river.

In an effort to prevent serious water pollution in the reservoir, the 10-year programme calls for the construction of 20 garbage treatment plants with a daily capacity of 7,030 tons in the Three Gorges area before 2003.Another 151 plants with a daily operating capacity of 16,700 tons will be built in the area by the end of 2010.

A total of 151 sewage treatment factories designed to treat 3.25 million tons of sewage each day will also be built from 2001 to 2010.

Small-sized enterprises producing paper, leather, pesticide, dyestuff, liquor and beer, as well as small mines, will all be ordered to shut down before 2003 to reduce pollution.

Other polluting enterprises must reduce their waste emission in line with the country"s standards and are encouraged to use clean production methods,replace old facilities and upgrade technologies.

Ecological protection, especially soil conservation, is also stressed in this programme to reduce soil erosion in the reservoir.

According to the programme"s blueprint, 42 projects that involve setting up natural reserves, returning farms to forests and treating 21 seriously polluted rivers will be implemented.

A total of 11,600 hectares of shelter forests will also take shape along major rivers in the Three Gorges area and its upper reaches areas by 2010.

Water quality in the Three Gorges area is expected to reach the second level in the country"s standards on surface water by 2010.

The programme encompasses an area of 790,000 square kilometres, including Hubei, Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces and Chongqing Municipality. (China Daily)