4/23/13
In 1992, the plan of building the Three Gorges Dam was approved through the National People’s Congress of China and the dam began building in 1994. The displacement of millions of people from the Yangtze River region was a huge social problem in the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. The government had already promised that they would get the compensation for the value of their homes and land. 22 million people had been relocated directly and indirectly during the construction period 1994 to 2008. The Three Gorges Dam have a big influence about the surrounding environment; therefore, some people who lived for farming or fishing have to leave their homes and go to cities to find jobs even though they were not living in the construction areas. The estimating cost from the government was 22.5 billion dollar. By the end of 2008, the Three Gorges Dam had already cost 24.7 billion dollar. 10.8 billion dollar was used to construct the dam; 11.43 billion dollar was used to relocate affected residents. 2.5 billion dollar was used in financing. The estimation was made by the assumption that the dam would generate 3600PJ of electricity which deserved 41.7 billion dollar in ten years. Also, the recovery was expected to be complete after ten years when the dam was completely full operation.
The Three Gorges Dam was built during the period of 1994 to 2012. The site for Three Gorges Project was finally well determined at Sandouping. Sandouping has a firm crystalline rock foundation, which is the most important geological condition that was required. The water valley here is much broader and wider than other sites. The bedrock of the dam site is intact granite with 100 MPa of compressive strength. The faults and fissures in the bedrock are less developed and most of them are well cemented. No potentially devastating geological structures such as mountain debris flow or extreme climate were detected within 15 kilometers of its vicinity. The regional seismic activities are small and infrequent.
By: Yue Cao
