China has topped the world in the number of large dams, a senior
government official announced in Beijing Tuesday.
Addressing the 20th Congress of the International Commission on
Large Dams (CICLD), which was inaugurated in Beijing, Chinese
Vice-Premier Wen Jiabao said that China has had the most large dams
in the world.
Wen, who is also the honorary chairman of the congress, told more
than 2,000 local and overseas experts and scholars attending the
Congress that China is now designing over 30 large dams that are
above 100 m in height, noting that the Chinese government has
attached great importance to building dams and hopes to further
cooperation with foreign countries in the field.
Wang Shucheng, minister of Water Resources and chairman of the
organization committee of the congress, said that over the past
five decades, China has built up tens of thousands of reservoirs,
with a total capacity of 460 billion cubic meters.
Some Chinese dams, such as the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze
River and the Xiaolangdi Dam on the Yellow River, are among the
largest and most sophisticated dam projects in the world, Wang
said.
The four-day congress, which is sponsored by five Chinese official
and non-government bodies, will be focused on a number of key
issues concerning the construction of dams.
CICLD was founded in 1928 and now has 81 member countries. It holds
a congress every three years.
(Xinhua)