China plans to build four huge hydropower stations along the Jinsha River, the China Yangtze Three Gorges Project Development Corporation announced Tuesday.

The stations will have a combined installed capacity of 38.5 million kilowatts, twice as much as the generating capacity of the Three Gorges Project.

The plan signals the start of China's developing its hydropower resources on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.

The Jinsha River runs more than 3,300 km and has a waterfall of over 5,100 meters. Its hydropower reserve accounts for about 16 percent of the country's total.

The China Yangtze Three Gorges Project Development Corporation, builder of these plants, will spend 1 billion yuan (US$120 million) this year in initial development.

Construction will begin at the Xiluodu power plant, which is scheduled for operation of its first generating unit in 2014 and completion in 2017.

The construction of these power stations is a key part of the state's program of transmitting electricity from the resources-rich but undeveloped western regions to the more developed eastern regions.

(Xinhua News Agency February 12, 2003)