CTG's former chief engineer Zhang Chaoran wins the ICOLD Lifetime Achievement Award

Zhang Chaoran, former chief engineer of China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG) has been honored with the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) Lifetime Achievement Award，Michael Rogers, president of the ICOLD announced at the 89th Annual Meeting of ICOLD on November 19.

The award ceremony will be held at the 27th Congress of ICOLD in Marseille, France in 2022.

Zhang, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, is the executive director of the Chinese National Committee on Large Dams (CHINCOLD).

Zhang, one of China"s most renowned experts in dam engineering, has made outstanding contributions to the development of the country"s high dam industry, and has scored fruitful achievements in promoting the technological progress and knowledge sharing on China"s high dam construction, Rogers said.

Jia Jinsheng, honorary president of ICOLD and secretary general of CHINCOLD, briefed the attendees on the prominent contributions of Zhang in dam engineering, and expressed his gratitude for ICOLD"s recognition of his outstanding achievements.

Zhang has been engaged in the design and construction of water conservancy and hydro-power projects for more than 50 years. He has overcome many world-class major technical problems in the design and construction of high dams and the quality control of mass concrete, and has played a leading role in pushing China"s water conservancy and hydro-power engineering technology to lead the world.

He led the design of Ertan hydro-power station, China"s first hydro-power station built in the 20th century with a dam height of over 200 meters and an installed capacity of over 3 million kilowatts, taking China"s large-scale hydro-power construction to an internationally advanced level.

Zhang oversaw the technical work in the construction of Xiluodu and Xiangjiaba hydro-power plants, and also made outstanding contributions to the successful construction and commissioning of major national hydro-power projects such as Jinping, Baihetan, and Wudongde.

He led and participated in the research and decision-making on major technical issues in the construction of the Three Gorges Project, was responsible for addressing and dealing with technical problems in the construction process, and organized the compilation and review work of the 1998-2009 series of China Three Gorges Project Quality Standards (135 copies). Zhang was also a key technical leader in achieving first-class engineering quality for the Three Gorges Project.

The ICOLD Lifetime Achievement Award, inaugurated at the 68th Annual Meeting of the Commission in September 2000, is awarded to experts who have made outstanding contributions to global dam development or have made major achievements in dam engineering. There are one to three recipients each year who are generally over 70 years old. Zhang and Electricite De France"s Jean Jacques Fry are this year’s two recipients. As of 2021, 8 experts recommended by CHINCOLD have won the award, making China the most decorated country.