This project will cost China $64 billion! much more than the controversial Three Gorges Dams project. However this project will diverge 44.8 billion m3 annually to the northern part of the country. This figure is equivalent to the annual water flow of the Yello river. The project will involve construction of thousands of kilometers of canals including many tunnels and under river passages. The project is expected to be completed by 2050.

History says that such mega moves are important for long term competitive advantage over other countires. Great ports and airports gave advantages to many developed countries like US, UK and Japan. Infrastrucre projects are the most controversial and the most difficult to implement in this environment conscious world. And China has the capabilty and determination to work against the odds. Time will tell how correct these decisions are and how beneficial such projects are for the worlds largest population.

Rogues.

The Great Wall of China is a classic example. Deng Xiaoping layed the foundation for the rapid growth of modern Chinese economy in the 1990s. Since then China has never looked back!

Now it has the worlds largest army (People’s Liberation Army) and a whooping Foreign currency reserves of US $2.1 trillion, thanks to the huge exports and foreign direct investments it attracts. China also has the highest nuber of cell phone users (600 million).

The three gorges dams: In 2008 China innaugrated the worlds largest electricity generating plant on the river Yangtze. It can generate power upto 22,500 MW! This dam consumed large amount of steel, enough to build 63 Eiffel Towers! This project is planned to support about 3% of China’s electricity consumption. It is said that 336 grams of coal are required to generate 1kWh electricity, thus this project is estimated to save 31 million tonnes of coal per annum. This is one of the highest reduction of green gas emmission through one project.

The ultra high voltage power transmission: This project marks China’s major breakthrough in long distance, large capacity and low loss power transmissions. China commissioned the pilot 640 Km line successfully and has plans to cover atleast 17,600 Km by 2012. This will make China the first country to implement UHV in such a large scale. The project is estimated to cost $ 12 billion. This 1000KV line can transmit 4 to 5 times more power compared to the traditional 500 KV lines. The enegry loss is also minimizd with the use of this system. Thus the UHV is the most efficient way of transmitting electricity over long distances. Not to forget that energy saving is equivalent to reduction in greenhouse gas emmissions!

Is China poised to become the superpower power by building world class infrastruture to sustain the future?

Rogues