China Approves Environment Assessment of ‘Tallest Dam’

China’s Environment Ministry has approved the construction of what will be the country’s tallest hydroelectric dam despite conceding that the new dam will have serious environmental consequences.

The dam, which is expected to be 314m high, will serve the Shuangjiangkou Hydropower Project on the Dadu River in Southwestern Sichuan Province. 

The dam, with a height of 314 metres, will serve the Shuangjiangkou hydropower project on the Dadu River in southwestern Sichuan province.

To be built over 10 years by a subsidiary of state power firm Guodian Group, it is expected to cost 24.68 billion yuan ($4.02 billion) in investment.

This is far taller than the ''Three Gorges Dam'' which serves the world’s biggest hydropower station on the Yangtze River and measures 185m.

An aerial view of the 185m-high Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River

 Note

The 300 Metre(984 ft) Nurek Dam in Tajikistan in Central Asia is the world's highest, though other taller dams are now under construction. Construction of the dam began in 1961 and was completed in 1980, when Tajikistan was still a Republic within the Soviet Union