Three Gorges: A Controversial 'Great Wall Of Water'

Water levels have started to rise in China's massive Three Gorges project, one of the most ambitious engineering projects ever involving the resettlement of up to two million people. Is this an environmental catastrophe in the making?

June 2, 2003, 9am PDT | Abhijeet Chavan | @legalaidtech

"Today one of the most ambitious civil engineering projects in history will begin to transform the world's third largest river...For some, like China's former premier Li Peng, it will be a moment of triumph and vindication...On Friday officials denied that alarming cracks in the concrete had been discovered...many of the 700,000 people displaced by the dam remain bitter, saying initial promises of better lives and higher compensation have not been kept...When the gigantic project is eventually finished in 2009, the water will be 600ft deep and up to two million people will have been moved, making this the largest resettlement programme ever attempted...many still fear the dam will be an environmental catastrophe."

Thanks to Abhijeet Chavan

Full Story:

World's third largest river starts to rise by 400ft to create the Great Wall of Water

Published on Sunday, June 1, 2003 in The Independent