CHINA

The us $4 billionXiaolangdi dam on theYellow River is the other sideof the coin of China's waterconservation efforts. Themassive dam is coming upon the Yangtze Kiang in theHenan province south ofBeijing. The contribution ofthe dam - to be completedon June 30, 2001 - mayprove to be greater than thecontroversial Three Gorgesdam on the Yangtze.

Nicholas Hope, director, China and Mongolia department of the WB, said that China had utilised the loans in an "excellent" manner. The WB has loaned about us $3 billion to China sincethe early 1980s, includingus $570 million for the Xiaolangdi project.

At Henan, work on ahuge, multipurpose 1.3 kmrock dam, which will rise154 m from the valley floor,is in progress. The site is situated at a 'critical point) onthe 5,500 km-long Yangtze,below the main catchment,which accounts for about 90per cent of the river's floweach year.

The dam will regulate theYangtze's flow, protecting120 million eople down-stream from terrible floodswhich have been killingmillions. Besides, the damwill drive turbines havinga capacity of 1,800 mw,generating electricity worthus $170 million per year.

The wB says that the damwill raise crops yield onabout two million hectares ofland and make more wateravailable to cities likeQingdao in Shangdongprovince that rely on the Yangtze.