Three Gorges Project achieves sound performance in first half of 2021

The Three Gorges Project (TGP) operated smoothly in the first half of 2021, delivering significant benefits in a wide range of areas such as navigation, power generation, and water resource utilization as it safeguards the quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

Yangtze River Basin Management Center, under China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG), has coordinated the flood prevention measures in the first half of the year. The water level of the Three Gorges Dam dropped to the flood limit of 145 meters on June 9, one day ahead of schedule. The operation has freed up 22.15 billion cubic meters of storage capacity, laying a solid ground for flood control this year during the coming flood season.

The total inflow volume to the Three Gorges Reservoir in the first half of 2021 amounted to 139.1 billion cubic meters in the first half of 2021, down 7.25% compared to the same period last year. The Three Gorges Reservoir replenished over 20.5 billion cubic meters of water to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River to meet the demand of spring irrigation, industrial operation and domestic use.

Eco-scheduling experimental operation was conducted in the first half of 2021 with remarkable effect. Three targeted operations for fish species that produce viscid and demersal eggs were conducted at the Three Gorges Reservoir, during which around 300 million eggs were spawned. The four major breeds of Chinese domesticated fish spawned over 8.4 billion eggs in two eco-scheduling operations at the lower reaches of the Gezhouba Dam, setting record.

In the first half of 2021, 18,986 ships passed through the Three Gorges ship lock, carrying a total of 3,202 passengers and 69.98 million tons of cargo, up 4.65% from a year earlier. The ship lift elevated 2,455 ships that carried over 57,100 passengers and 2.3889 million tons of freight. In the first half of the year, the Three Gorges Dam maintained normal operation, with all indicators within the design range.