Navigation Advantages of Three Gorges Dam

The construction standard of Three Gorges dam is to build world class dam. The power generation, flood control and navigation benefits of Three Gorges Dam are becoming more and more obvious.

Navigation Advantages of Three Gorges Dam – Effect of Ship Locks

The industrial zone on the upstream of the Yangtze River has formed certain production capacity. While the areas around the Three Gorges most are massifs. The most part waterway on the upstream was in natural state, which is hard to pass by for ships in dry season. So the transportation capacity is limited. The industry along the river is affected by transportation. The inconvenience transportation also bring big problem to the port, waterway construction and navigation mark management.

After the Three Gorges Dam completed, the water level in Three Gorges Reservoir will reach 156 meters. For the Three Gorges Reservoir area, with the increase of water level, the waterway will become wider. With the increase of water level in main stream, the original stream or canaliculus which flow out from some Tributaries become river, which increased the number of ferry on the waterway. The tourism is the largest beneficiary, which will bring active effect to the employment and "agriculture-countryside-farmer" problem in the reservoir area.

After a series of water impounding project, the waterway in the reservoir area will become deep waterway in half a year. The water level in the waterway will increase 40 percents, while the width will increase two times, and the flow rate of water will decrease 50 percents. It can meet the need of ten thousand tons fleet to waterway depth.

Navigation Advantages of Three Gorges Dam – Inland River Navigation Condition

In many years ago, the shipping amount of the Yangtze River is about 60 percents of Rhine River, Mississippi River and some other big rivers in the world. After several years' construction, the shipping amount of the Yangtze River has come into world class. Until the end 2005, the shipping amount of the Yangtze River is the top one in the world.

Navigation Advantages of Three Gorges Dam – Requirement to Shipbuilding and Other Industries

With the completion of the ship locks in the Three Gorges Dam, the ships must be standardized. Now, the small tonnage of ships and unorderly ship types are big problems which affected the Yangtze River navigation development.

We can see from the inland river navigation development history that the waterway, port and ship are three important factors in the navigation industry development. The ship is the most active, vigorous and flexible factor. The development of new ship types while bring the usage and generalization of new technology, new products and new material, which offer new market space to the ship product industry and related industrials on the upstream.

In these two years, the number of Yangtze River navigation section and ships are reducing, while and transportation amount are increasing. It proved that the efficiency o navigation is improving with the standardization of ships.