Resettlement operations for the construction
of the Three Gorges Project, the world-largest water-control
scheme, has won full support from many parts of China.
Various areas of the country have poured more
than 1.6 billion yuan (about 193 million US dollars) into
the Three Gorges reservoir area over the past four years to
support completion of the project, said Qi Lin, director of
the Resettlement Bureau of the Three Gorges Project
Construction Commission.
When the reservoir is
filled with water, 632 square kilometers of land will be
submerged and 21 counties and cities in Sichuan and Hubei
provinces will be affected by the year 2009.
To ensure the smooth progress of the project,
the State Council, China's highest governing body, has
called on various areas to support the resettlement program.
Qi said 20 provinces and cities nationwide
have provided support with funding, technology and materials
to the reservoir area, and helped the area launch more than
800 projects.
Governments of various districts
have encouraged major companies to develop name-brand
products in areas near the reservoir.
Wahaha
Group, a well-known confectionery firm, has merged three
enterprises in Fuling, Sichuan Province. After technological
upgrading of the enterprises, the group has not only
relocated more than 1,200 employees of the enterprises, but
also recruited 1,500 migrant workers from rural areas close
to the reservoir.
The official also said that
a number of scientific research institutes across the
country have provided technology to promote agricultural
development in areas surrounding the reservoir, free of
charge.
Aided by technicians from Jiangsu,
Zhejiang, Fujian, Jilin and Guangdong provinces, farmers in
the reservoir area have become better off by applying fine
methods of planting American Ginseng, melons, and raising
soft-shelled turtles and deer.
Poor education
and overpopulation on scarce land resources have conspired
to curb the economic development of the reservoir area.
In recent years other parts of China have
trained more than 4,000 personnel for the reservoir area.
Guangdong Province plans to invest in the rebuilding of 165
secondary and primary schools in the area.
Ministries or companies under the State
Council have also lent support to the resettlement. The
State Commission of Science and Technology has introduced
new techniques in the planting of rice, vegetables and
oranges.
The Ministry of Agriculture has
invested more than 25 million yuan in the reservoir area,
establishing a score of research centers.
Thanks to the support from across the country,
the resettlement is making smooth progress. So far, more
than 20,000 people have been resettled, 75,000 square meters
of housing have been rebuilt, and over 60 new factories have
gone into operation. In addition, 2,500 factories are being
built.
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