1. Three Gorges Project: A Project of the Century By: Xinyu Huang

2. Introduction A dream of nearly one century: first proposed in 1920’s Site survey and geotechnic measure in 1940’s Feasibility study and design during 1950’s to 1990’s Construction phase: 1993-2009

3. Yangtze River & Three Gorges

4. Three Gorges Scenic Site Views

5. Three Gorges Project Capacity: 39.3 billion c. m. Annual power generation: 84.7 billion kwhr Length: 2,335 m Earth work: 125 million c. m.; Concrete work: 26 million c. m.; Residents resettle: nearly 1 million (budget: 5 billion USD) Project volume: 6 billion USD

6. Proposed Functions Control the flood Improve river transportation Generate power Boost economy

7. The project construction Three phases 1993-1997 1998-2003 2004-2009 Employees: 20,000~30,000

8. The project management Construction Manager: The Three Gorge Development Corp. International open bid, e.g., turbine-generator contract was awarded to a Canadian-German consortium.

9. Problems accompanying Population resettle

10. Problems accompanying Submerged cities

11. A project of great controversy Criticism Negative impact to ecological system High economic cost Potential opportunity to earthquake Population resettlement Safety problems Corruption

12. A good lesson – Aswan Dam Aswan High Dam Project

13. Proposed benefits of Aswan Benefits Controlling the annual floods on the Nile and prevents the damage Providing about a half of Egypt's power supply Improving navigation along the river by keeping the water flow consistent

14. During construction of Aswan xAbout 18 years of work xOver US$1 billion xOver 90,000 Nubians were relocated  The Temple of Abu Simel was shifted

15. Hazards brought by Aswan Seepage and evaporation accounts for a loss of about 12-14% of the annual input into the reservoir The sediments of the Nile have been filling the reservoir and thus decreasing its storage capacity The Nile delta is having problems due to the lack of sediment Poor drainage of the newly irrigated lands has led to saturation and increased salinity. Over half of Egypt's farmland is now rated medium to poor soils.

16. Aswan: A limited success Conclusion: As a structure Aswan project is a success, but in its effect on the ecology of the Nile Basin, most of which could have been predicted, it is a failure (Florman, 1976). It is a great mistake made by civil engineers.