Economical Question:
“The Three Gorges Dam benefited to the Chinese economic”. To what extent do you agree with the statement above?
Thesis
The Three Gorges Dam is the world’s most notorious dam. The massive project sets records for number of people moved, a number of cities and towns flooded, and length of reservoir approximately 600 kilometers. Yet this once glittering monument to China’s might is fast becoming a symbol of government folly. The project has been beset by corruption, the trade along the Yangtze River, power generation and spiraling costs.
Introduction
The Yangtze River has a trend to flood often and measurements have been taken in the past to reduce the impacts on the area. Flooding in the past has cost millions of dollars to recover. With the building of the Three Gorges Dam, the flood occurrence is increased to one hundred years, thus reducing the impact floods. The dam will also provide power generation for much of China called the hydroelectric power. Funding between countries happened due to the loss of economy. According to the Chinese government, the three gorges dam will have paid off all its debts by the year 2012, about three years after completing the construction. It will benefit in boosting in agriculture, since the gorges dam will hold more water in case of flooding. It also will provide the surrounding zones with a steady source of drinking water. China will lose money due to the flood of fertile farming land. The 100,000 lands that will be flooded approximately for 10% of the grain supply and 50% of rice. To make up for the damage, China will have to import more grain and rice from other countries. The new land is less productive, which makes the growing of grain and rice will be tougher and more expensive. The project has been beset by corruption, the trade along the Yangtze River, power generation and spiraling costs.
The Three Gorges Dam was built due to these economic impacts, trade along the Yangtze River, power generation and the displacement of local farmers.
The 3 Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric dam that extents the Yangtze River in the Hubei region of China. The construction of the dam began in 1994, and building was completed in 2008. The dam was fully completed in 2012. The 3 Gorges Dam is one of the largest hydroelectric dam in the world. The Yangtze River has a trend to flood often and measurements have been taken in the past to reduce the impacts on the area. Flooding in the past has cost millions of dollars, damages to land, homes, and other property. With the building of the Three Gorges Dam, the flood occurrence is increased to one hundred years, thus reducing the impact floods.
|
The dam will also provide power generation for much of China called the hydroelectric power that is a self-sustaining, renewable, clean power source. According to the Chinese government, the three gorges dam will have paid off all its debts by the year 2012, about three years after completing the construction. The creation of the dam has a number of economic values. It will benefit in boosting in agriculture, since the gorges dam will hold more water in case of flooding. It also will provide the surrounding zones with a steady source of drinking water. China will lose money due to the flood of fertile farming land. The 100,000 lands that will be flooded approximately for 10% of the grain supply and 50% of rice. To make up for the damage, China will have to import more grain and rice from other countries. The new land is less productive, which makes the growing of grain and rice will be tougher and more expensive.
The Three Gorges Dam made China to decreased the transportation cost.
Trade is expected to increase 5 times in the Central China. Transportation costs are expected to lessen by 35-37%. This improved the navigability furthered by the ship locks at the Three Gorges Dam. The installation of ship locks is planned to increase river transport from 10 million to 50 million tons annually. Shipping will become safer, since reservoir are extremely dangerous to navigate.
By relocating local farmers due to the flood, would it benefit China’s economy?
The creation of the dam has a number of economic values. It will benefit in boosting in agriculture, since the gorges dam will hold more water in case of flooding. It also will provide the surrounding zones with a steady source of drinking water. China will lose money due to the flood of fertile farming land. The 100,000 lands that will be flooded approximately for 10% of the grain supply and 50% of rice.
|
To make up for the damage, China will have to import more grain and rice from other countries. The new land is less productive, which makes the growing of grain and rice will be tougher and more expensive. Relocation of the people living in the reservoir area includes the switching of agricultural goods. Instead, value added goods, such as citrus fruits, are more possible to grow. However, since these farmers may be unfamiliar with the growth of citrus fruits or other crops, production on these new farms may be heavy and produce less economic trade. The people who are not settled on a land to farm will be trained to work in cities and towns. The majority of the society living near the dam area are uneducated, making this transition more problematic.
China has debt with several countries due to construct the Three Gorges Dam.
The Three Gorges Dam got international funding to construct it. Banks and companies from France, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, Sweden, and Brazil have all been engaging in financing the dam. The government export recognition agencies that have loaned the Three Gorges Dam Project Development Corporation more than $1.4 billion for this project. China Development Bank has lent $3.6 billion for the Three Gorges Dam project, making it the main lender. There are 5 main companies in Canada who helped to finance the dam. AGRA Monenco, a worldwide engineering and construction management company, signed $25 million on the contract in 1994. A year later, the company signed another deal for $12.5 million in system managing technology and training. The Dominion Bridge, Inc. signed a $64 million contract with Chongquing City and Sichuan area for the building of a cement factory to use the dam with cement. The French company GEC-Alsthom signed a $400 million contract in 1997 in a grouping with Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) and Kvaerner Energy. Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau also known as the KfW Bankengruppe, a German export credit agency, along with the banks Deutsche Genossenschafts bank (cooperative bank), Dresdner Bank, and Commerzbank, lend $271 million to finance Siemens offer in the association with GE Canada and Voith-Hydro to add six generators to the dam. U.S. contribution in the Three Gorges Dam project is minimal. The private companies, such as Rotec Industries, Caterpillar, and Voith-Hydro, which were sold among $60 and $100 million in equipment to China for the project. U.S. Government banks and agencies did not contribute in funding the gorges dam because the project did not present the environmental standards. The World Bank also did not fund the Three Gorges Dam due to uncertain impacts on the environment and society.
Conclusion
To conclude, it was beneficial to economy, by building the three gorges dam the economic costs ran high. Since the Yangtze River has a tendency to flood frequently, flooding in the past has cost millions in damages to homes, land, and other property. With the building of the Three Gorges Dam, the flood frequency is increased to one-hundred years, also lessening the impact floods with have on the economy. Trade is expected to increase 5 times in the Central China. Transportation costs are expected to lessen by 35-37%. This improved the navigability furthered by the ship locks at the Three Gorges Dam. The dam provided power generation to much of China. Banks, companies and governments from around the world helped fund the three gorges dam. According to the Chinese government, the dam will have paid off all its debts by the year 2012 that was succeeded.