China to Build $29 Billion Hydropower Plants, Securities Says

By Winnie Zhu

Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- China will spend 200 billion yuan ($29 billion) to build eight hydropower stations on the Jinsha River in the southwestern province of Yunnan, the Shanghai Securities News said, citing the local government.

The eight plants in Yunnan, where the middle course of the river is located, will have a total capacity of 20,580 megawatts, the newspaper said, citing the Jinsha River Power Projects Administration Office.

The power stations will supply electricity to regions in eastern and central China and the provinces of Guangdong, Sichuan and Yunnan, the newspaper said.

China Three Gorges Project Corp., operator of the nation's biggest hydropower project on the Yangtze River, is building four hydropower stations with a combined capacity of 38,000 megawatts in the lower course of the Jinsha River. The Jinsha joins the Min River in Sichuan to form the Yangtze.

To contact the reporter on this story: Winnie Zhu in Shanghai at wzhu4@bloomberg.net