The World Bank has approved a loan of US$100 million for the China Third Inland Waterways Project, which will help provide efficient waterway transportation and generate more power for central China's Hunan Province.
This project, a combination of navigation and hydropower generation, aims mainly to promote the economic well-beings of the majority of the people living in the impoverished areas along the Xiangjiang River in the province, according to a World Bank news release received here over the weekend.
The project will remove dangerous shoals, upgrade a 157- kilometer channel, and create another deeper channel along the Xiangjiang River so as to enhance the safety and productivity of the inland waterway system.
This project, after being completed, is expected to allow a more efficient mix of vessel sizes to use the waterways and reduce transport time by up to two and half hours. In addition, about 640.5 million kwh of power will be produced annually for the province.
The major components of the project include the construction of the Zhuzhou dam and shiplock complex, the dredging of the Xiangtan-Zhuzhou section of the Xiangjiang waterway to facilitate transportation, and the technical assistance for the development of containerization along the Xiangjiang River.
The estimated total cost of the project will be US$220.22 million, and the Chinese government will provide the rest of the financing apart from the World Bank's US$100 million loan.
(Xinhua News Agency 06/24/2001)
