The Jinping I project will have an installed power capacity of 3600MW and require construction of a 305m high double-curvature, thin arch concrete dam on the Yalong river. Construction costs of the scheme are estimated at US$3.3B.
MWH was awarded the contract by Ertan Hydropower Development Co (EHDC), and had provided similar services to the firm when it built the 3300MW Ertan project in the 1990s. The consultant estimates that its revenues from the contract over the next five years could be more than US$5M.
The Ertan project was the first major hydro scheme on the Yalong, and EHDC was reconstituted in 1995 to undertake the future hydro projects on the river which is estimated to have potential power resources of 34.62GW.
The Jinping I project is one of 21 hydro schemes planned along the main river and that will exploit a head between the first and last of 2813m down the cascade. The 4800MW Jingping II project is already under construction and will involve major diversion tunnels but no dam. Other projects to be built by 2025 include Guandi, Tongzilin and Lianghekou.
