The ecosystem of the Mekong River will not be affected by the construction of hydraulic power stations along the Lancang River, upstream of the Mekong River.

Xu Rongkai, governor of southwest China's Yunnan province made the remark Saturday during a meeting being held in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Friday.

The 4,880 km Lancang-Mekong River, renowned as the "Danube of the east", rises in northwest China's Qinghai province and runs through Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

A total of 14 hydraulic power stations have been or will be built on the upstream and middle reaches of the Lancang-Mekong River, according to China's plans.

Seventy percent of the investment in the station located on the border between China and Thailand will be financed by the latter, and the station will provide 1.5 million kilowatts of electricity to Thailand upon its completion in 2011.

It is vital to develop certain reaches of the Lancang-Mekong River by rationally utilizing and protecting local natural resources in order to strengthen economic ties among southeast Asian countries, said Xu Rongkai.

Local environmental experts say that the amount of Lancang river water flowing out of China will remain consistent and unchanged throughout the year thanks to the reservoirs, which are part of the hydraulic power works, which will also benefit shipping businesses on the Lancang-Mekong River.

Moreover, China has built a number of nature reserves along the river to better preserve the ecosystem of the Lancang-Mekong reaches.

"We have been striving to convince countries downstream of the Lancang-Mekong River that construction of these hydraulic stations will not harm their interests. And their doubts are now diminishing," said Xu.

(Xinhua News Agency September 7, 2002)