They point out that the preliminary prospectus of the bonds specifically mentioned the Three Gorges Dam. Board members of CICC include Morgan Stanley executive management. China Development Bank, a state owned bank established to finance large scale infrastructure projects, lists the Three Gorges Dam as its top loan commitment.
Proponents say the dam is essential to control floods and provide electricity.
Critics counter that it will generate only questionable economic results but definite environmental and human rights problems. At the same time, its reservoir will submerge an area of 632 square kilometers, affecting 365 townships in 21 cities, districts or counties in Sichuan and Hubei provinces, displacing more than 1 million people. It will also put 657 factories, hundreds of archaeological relics, and 28,400 hectares of farmland and orchards under water. Already, many locals are having to move from the Yangtze's fertile banks to what, in most cases, will be less fertile land on slopes. In March, five villagers from Yunyang Country, an area scheduled to be submerged by the reservoir created by the dam, were arrested after organizing petitions detailing inadequate compensation and mismanagement of resettlement funds.