Three Gorges project builder to build world's highest dam in Xinjiang

China Gezhouba Group (CGGC) has signed an agreement to undertake the construction of a water control project at the upper reaches of the Aksu River in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, which will be the world's highest dam once completed.

CGGC inked a public-private partnership (PPP) agreement worth 8.99 billion yuan (about 1.26 billion US dollars) with local authorities for the Dashixia Water Control Project, which requires a dam as high as 247 meters to tame Aksu River.

The river along with Yarkant, Hotan and other rivers spill out into the Tarim River, China's longest inland river.

Chen Dongming, deputy director of the Tarim Valley administration, said the damming of Aksu River would need a wall height equivalent to an 80-floor building, which would create a reservoir with a storage capacity of 1.17 billion cubic meters.

The multi-functional water control project is expected to take eight and half years to build to facilitate water supply, irrigation and flood control in the river basin. It will be installed with a hydro-power capacity of 750,000 kw and the ability to generate 1.89 billion kWh of electricity a year, he said.

CGGC won the bid for the largest water conversancy project in Tarim Basin in June. Through the PPP agreement, it has obtained a 40-year franchise period to operate the project after its completion.

The water conservancy project is listed among China's major hydraulic projects for water conservation and supply approved by the State Council.

Affiliated to China Energy Engineering Group, CGGC is headquartered in the Central China city of Wuhan. It is known as the main builder of the Three Gorges project.