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Three Gorges crosses a milestone

Completion of work on the giant hydroelectric project's main wall today

THREE GORGES DAM SITE (CHINA): The Three Gorges Dam designed to tame major flood on the Yangtze river seen once in 1,000 years, is solid enough to withstand natural disasters and terrorist attacks, said Cao Guangjing, deputy general manager of China Yangtze River Three Gorges Project Development Corporation, at a press conference here on Friday.

``The dam is located on a geographic structure with an earthquake intensity of six degrees. However, the dam has been designed to withstand an earthquake intensity of seven degrees,'' said Mr. Cao at the press conference held one day before the completion of the dam's main wall.

Mr. Cao said China has instituted emergency plans to guard the hydropower project against terrorist attacks using conventional weapons or nuclear arms.

The dam wall made of concrete and reinforced steel bar would not be seriously marred by attacks by conventional weapons.

In case of a nuclear attack, the project operator would discharge the water stored on orders from authorities. The world's largest hydropower project has a maximum water discharging capacity of 11,000 cubic metres per second. — Xinhua

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