China to list dam company, raise over $360 mln
Date: 10-Sep-02
Country: CHINA
The China Yangtze River Three Gorges Project Development Corp, which is building the massive hydroelectric power plant, is expected to set up a spin-off company this month to handle the listing, it said.
The subsidiary, China Yangtze Electric Power Corp, will be a shareholding firm worth $920 million, it quoted director of the parent company's restructuring office Kou Riming as saying.
"The listing will provide us with a platform for continuous acquisitions for expansion," Kou said.
Construction of the dam began in 1993 and is scheduled for completion in 2009. It was expected to cost 204 billion yuan ($24.65 billion), but unofficial estimates put the cost as high as $75 billion, the newspaper said.
The newspaper said the generators would cost $1.1-2.1 billion, a third of which would be raised by the stock listing and the remaining portion by bonds and loans.
The first four generators, with combined capacity of 2.8 million kw, are due to be up and running by between August and November next year and the remaining 22 generators would be on line in seven years time, it said.
China says the dam is needed to contain the Yangtze's devastating annual floods and to meet future power demand.
Critics say the project, first planned decades ago, is not a practical solution to either problem and could cause severe pollution and silting by slowing the river's flow.
