Construction of the Manlha Water Control Project, the largest water conservancy project in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, has been completed at a cost of 1.447 billion yuan (US$174 million).

Chen Lei, vice minister of water resources, on Sunday gave the key to the hydropower station to Legqog, chairman of the regional government, who was present at the ceremony. The project passed state appraisal on Saturday.

The event represented the completion of all the 62 projects in Tibet funded by other provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions of China since mid-1990s.

Manlha is located in Gyaze County in southwestern Xigaze Prefecture. The facility will contribute not only to irrigation and power generation, but also to flood control and the tourism industry in the region.

The large project consists of a dam, flood water discharge tunnels and a power station, with the storage capacity of the reservoir hitting 155 million cubic meters, and the power station' s installed capacity reaching 20,000 kilowatts. The project will provide irrigation for more than 43,000 hectares of farmland.

Construction on the main part of the project started in 1995, and the four units began generating electricity between December 1999 and July 2000.

(Xinhua News Agency 08/21/2001)