BEIJING - China blocked the massive Yangtze River on Sunday, starting to fill a reservoir for the Three Gorges dam, the world's biggest hydroelectric project which critics fear will bring ecological disaster.
Following are some key facts about the project:
Dam location: Sandouping town near Yichang city in central Hubei province, 1000kmwest of Shanghai, which lies at the mouth of the Yangtze.
Dam dimensions: height 181m; width: 2309m
Reservoir dimensions: Water level: 175m; capacity: 39.3 billion cubic m; length: more than 600km; average width: 1.1km.
Area to be inundated: 632sq km of land including two cities, 11 counties, 116 towns in the southwestern municipality of Chongqing and Hubei. Swamped area has a total population of 844,100, including 361,500 farmers, and 1599 affected factories.
Total people to be relocated: 1.13 million
Power: 26 power turbines by 2009, with total capacity of 18,200 megawatts.
Timeline: Started in 1993, to be built in three phases by 2009. The second phase, which ends this year, sees the filling of the reservoir, opening of locks and construction of the first batch of turbines. Phase three sees the water level rise to 175m and completion of the remaining turbines.
Environmental concern: Critics say the waste from the remnants of abandoned factory sites, homes and hospitals will seep into and pollute the massive reservoir. The slower flowing river could lead to more silting on the flood prone river.
