Is Giant China Dam causing more harm than good?

Is the Giant China Dam causing more harm than good?

Some 4 million more people will be forced to relocate over the next 10-15 years because of a giant dam project in China that has stirred environmental concerns.

About 1.4 million people have already been uprooted to make way for the Three Gorges Dam, the country's showcase engineering triumph and the world's biggest hydropower project.

Those newly forced to leave their homes will come from outlying districts of the giant central Chinese city of Chongqing, where the bulk of the dam's reservoir, which is about 400 miles long, has started to erode the banks of the Yangtze River in many places.

The announcement follows an unusually frank government assessment last month that China could face a catastrophe if it fails to quickly stop environmental problems caused by the dam.

Xinhua cited Chongqing Vice Mayor Yu Yuanmu as saying the resettlements would be staggered under the region's 2007-2020 rural and urban development plan, which was approved by the State Council, China's cabinet on September 20.

Those relocated would move to neighborhoods about one hour by bus from Chongqing's city center. The first 2 million people would be moved within the next five years, Yu said.

“The resettlements were necessary to protect the ecology of the reservoir area,” Yu said.

The dam has been relentlessly promoted as a cure-all for devastating flooding on the Yangtze River and a source of clean power for a nation attempting to lessen its dependence on coal.

The project, begun in 1993 and with an overall price tag of $23.6 billion, has forged ahead with the backing of the Communist leadership despite complaints about its cost, environmental concerns and the forced relocations.

Will the Giant China Dam cause more harm than good?