Three Gorges Dam (Civ4)/Civilopedia

The Three Gorges Dam project is designed to tap the power of the mighty Yangtze River, the third longest river in the world. Construction began in Hubei Province, China, in 1994, and it is scheduled to be completed in 2009. When complete, it will be 600 feet high and run 1.3 miles, making it the largest hydroelectric dam in the world. The Chinese government estimates the final cost to be $30 billion, while independent estimates put the cost at closer to $75 billion.
Constructing a dam on the Yangtze was proposed as far back as 1919 by Sun Yat-sen, but the idea was shelved for 40 years due to a series of wars, revolutions, and other national calamities hitting China. The idea was resurrected in 1954, abandoned, resurrected again in 1963, abandoned, and so on until it was given final approval in 1992.
There has been much debate over the project, primarily because it will dislocate almost two million people, but also because of its potentially devastating environmental impact and because it will eradicate 1300 archaeological sites in the area. The Chinese government has pushed the project forward despite these objections and despite the unprecedented opposition of over 30% of the delegates to the National People's Congress, a body which usually rubber-stamps government decisions.