The permanent ship lock of the Three Gorges Water Control Project on the
Yangtze River drew public attention Monday morning as trial navigation got
underway on schedule.
|
A passenger ship sails into the fourth chamber of the
permanent ship lock as a gate opens at the Three Gorges Dam in Yichang,
Hubei Province, June 16, 2003. [Xinhua] |
The
two-way five-step lock, the largest in the world, was built entirely by Chinese
engineers after solving a number of unprecedented technical difficulties.
The lock, completed after about a decade of work at a cost of 6.2 billion
yuan (US$746.99 million), features a two-way lifting facility for the 113-meter
drop between the upstream and downstream separated by the gigantic dam.
With the lock in operation, ships will be able to pass through the dam in
about two and a half hours via the 6.44-km-long dock on the northern bank of the
Yangtze River.
The lock has 24 lock gates, each weighing 867 tons, which were built by
China's two flagship ship yards located respectively in Wuhan, the capital city
of central China's Hubei Province, and in Shanghai, east China.
Previous trial operations and tests have shown that the gates and related
opening and closing mechanisms meet sophisticated international standards.
The metallic structures and electronic equipment of the lock gates were
manufactured and installed by 16 large Chinese enterprises from 14 provinces and
municipalities.
Scheduled for completion in 2009, the Three Gorges Project will start to pay
dividends this year, playing an important role in flood control, power
generation, navigation, water diversion and environmental protection.
