The Three Gorges Project is ready for a trial navigation scheduled for this morning.

Two preliminary tests have been carried out following completion of water storage in the reservoir on June 10, five days ahead of schedule. A single ship successfully passed through the reservoir last Friday, followed the next day by another test navigation of a shipping team, which was successful.

The results of these two pre-tests were positive, particularly the interaction between the ship, the water and the lock, said Zhang Qingsong, director of the Yangtze River Three Gorges Navigational Bureau.

Inspections on the shipping lock will continue even after the trials, added Zhang. The second phase of trial navigations will take place when the water flow of the Yangtze River reaches 40,000 cubic metres per second next month.

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