Official media in China report that work on damming the Jianshajiang has commenced. Work on the project had started in late 2005 but it suffered delays due to pressure from the State Environmental Protection Administration (Sepa).
Xiluodu is located in Yunnan province, on a tributary of the Yangtze, and is to supply power locally as well as to Sichuan.
The hydropower plant would be one of the world’s largest but have just over half the eventual 22.4GW installed capacity of Three Gorges on the Yangtze river. Like Three Gorges, the Xiluodu scheme is being built by the China Three Gorges project Corp.
With the project schedule to have the first turbine installed by mid-2012, Xiluodu is to be fully commissioned by 2015. There was no information on any programme impacts due to the previous delays.
In additional to power generation, like Three Gorges the project will also have a significant function in flood management and water resource management.
