Final dam section completed at China’s fourth largest hydropower project

Wudongde hydropower plant, the fourth largest hydropower plant in China and the seventh-largest in the world, completed the concrete placement of the last dam segment on May 4, according to its builder and operator China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG).

Wudongde hydropower plant is the first of four planned cascade hydropower plants located downstream of Jinsha River. The plant has a crest elevation of 988 m, a maximum dam height of 270 m, a center line arc length dam crest of 326.95 m, and an aspect ratio of just 0.19, making it the world’s thinnest 300 m ultra-high arch dam. It also features low heat concrete placement.

Since construction started on March 16, 2017, the dam has achieved the “double- hundred target”, with its height reaching 100m and two consecutive years of 1 million m3 of concrete placement.

Wudongde hydropower plant has entered the stage of 945m impoundment and it is undergoing testing at high water levels. Various monitoring data show the dam is in excellent working condition, laying a solid foundation for the first batch of power units to be commissioned safely and on schedule this July.