After years of triumphalist claims, the government admits the giant dam has caused huge problems. The authorities must address the economic demands of 1.4 million displaced people, prevent environmental disasters, make the dam safe against earthquake as well as ensure enough water is available for farming and human consumption.

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – For the first time, the Chinese government has admitted that the giant Three Gorges dam has caused huge social and environmental problems. At the same time, it has announced a plan to solve them. However, analysts say the authorities have not clearly laid out what actions they plan to take.

State-controlled Xinhua news agency has admitted what was already evident but denied so far by Beijing, namely the huge problems caused by the big hydroelectric project have not be solved. They include the “smooth relocation and well-being of residents, ecological protection and geological disaster prevention” as well as the “impact on navigation, irrigation and water supplies along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River”.

Beijing has always touted the project, dreamt Mao Zedong, and strongly advocated by Prime Minister Li Peng. Started in 1994, it was completed in 2006 after submerging 13 cities, 140 towns and 1,350 villages.

The creation of the huge dam uprooted 1.4 million people in 20 counties in Hubei and Chongqing, covering villages and farmland that were once the sole form of support for local residents.

The government has built them new homes, but many displaced people remain jobless, and government subsidies will soon run out.

According to Xinhua, the people displaced will catch up with average living standards in the two provinces by 2020, but it does not say how that will happen.

In addition to the people directly affected by the dam, an estimated 5 million people were displaced from surrounding areas due to environmental problems attributable to the project itself (see “Three Gorges' dam: another 4 million uprooted,” in AsiaNews, 13 October 2007).

The great reservoir reached 175 metres above sea level last year, but now faces landslides and pollution. Similar projects are also always at the mercy of even small earthquakes. In 2009, Beijing said it planned to spend nearly 100 billion yuan in the coming decade to cope with them.

However, two days ago, mainland environmentalists voiced doubts about the government's ability to avert what they saw as waiting disasters. Fluctuations in the water level of the vast reservoir, which stretches for 660 kilometres, cause frequent landslides (see “Landslide in Three Gorges Dam kills 30,” in ibid, 23 November 2007). Excess rain is also important danger (see “More torrential rain in southern China. Three Gorges Dam at risk,” in ibid, 27 July 2010).

The project’s huge cost is another negative aspect ignored by Xinhua. Official sources have put the price tag at 200 billion yuan, but many observers believe the actual cost to be much higher (see “Three Gorges Dam, another 17 billion euros needed,” in ibid,  19 November 2009 and “Costs rise for Three Gorges Dam: another 100 billion yuan earmarked,” in ibid, 09 April 2009).

The Yangtze has always been crucial for irrigation and drinking water in many regions of China. Experts note that as water is used to generate power less is available downstream for transportation, farming and human consumption (see “Drought in China leaves more than 2.5 million without water,” in ibid, 06 November 2009).

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