Earthquake casts doubt on hydropower

BEIJING - The 5.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Yingjiang county, Yunnan province, was a deadly reminder that local officials should be careful in planning hydraulic power projects for the Nujiang River valley in the province.

Wang Jirong, a member of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC), has prepared a proposal calling for the central government to "pay attention to the special and complex geological and seismological conditions in the Nujiang River valley and take caution in making decisions about hydraulic power development there."

Even so, Hou Xinhua, an NPC deputy and head of the Nujiang Lisu autonomous prefecture, is asking the central government to hasten the construction of a hydraulic power project along the Nujiang River's main stream. Consisting of a reservoir and four dams, the project is to be capable of generating up to 180,000 kilowatts.