Construction began yesterday on another hydropower station upstream from the Yangtze River's Three Gorges Project.

Ground was broken on the six million kilowatts Xiangjiaba hydropower plant, the second on this section of the Yangtze after work began on the Xiluodu project last year.

The section of the Yangtze that flows between Yushu in Qinghai Province and Yibin in Sichuan Province is often called the Jinsha River and, before long, it will be dotted with hydropower developments.

Addressing a ceremony to mark the start of construction yesterday, Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan emphasized the need to consider all aspects of the Xiangjiaba development, including its impact on sustainable development.

The China Yangtze River Three Gorges Project Development Corporation has plans to build 22 more hydropower stations on the Yangtze, including two more - Baihetan and Wudongde hydropower stations - on the lower reaches of the Jinsha River section.

According to Li Yong'an, general manager of the China Yangtze River Three Gorges Project Development Corporation, developer of all the projects, a feasibility study for the 12 million kw Baihetan hydropower station has been completed and approved by experts. Work has also started on a feasibility study for the Wudongde hydropower station.

Construction of the two hydropower stations is expected to start in 2009 and be completed by 2020.

The four hydropower stations will have a combined capacity of 38.5 million kw upon completion, said Li, but the potential hydroelectric capacity of this 2,300-kilometer section of the Yangtze is estimated at 112 million kw.

Workers will start to dam the Jinsha River in 2008.

The Xiangjiaba hydropower station near Yibin City will displace 88,000 residents from six counties in southwest China's Yunnan and Sichuan provinces.

Some 8,000 people have already been resettled.

Budgeted to cost 43.4 billion yuan (US$5.43 billion), the power station will be completed in 2015 and be able to generate 30.7 billion kw/hours of electricity a year.

The project will also play a role in flood control, farmland irrigation, will improve navigation and have a positive effect on the environment, according to Li.

Electricity generated by hydropower stations on the Jinsha River will mainly be sold to China's eastern, southern and central regions.