Water control project to boost power grid stability in southern Xinjiang

A major water control project in southern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is set to begin reservoir impoundment by late September, marking a major milestone in China’s push to stabilize regional power supply and reshape the ecological and energy landscape of the Aksu Region.

The Dashixia Water Control Project is located at the confluence of Wensu and Wushi counties within the Kumarak River Grand Canyon of the Aksu Region. It is designed to integrate flood control, irrigation, power generation, and ecological management. 

Central to this project is a dam reaching 247 meters in height. With a total installed capacity of 750,000 kilowatts, the project will generate nearly 1.9 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, significantly contributing to the region's energy needs.

Beyond its power generation capabilities, the project is expected to yield numerous additional benefits.

"First is ecological restoration, second is irrigation upgrading, third is enhanced flood prevention, fourth is clean energy generation, and fifth is increased social employment," said Huang Jin, a manager with Xinjiang Gezhouba Dashixia Water Control Project Development Company.

During its construction, innovative technologies have been adopted to improve the efficiency, including an intelligent monitoring system.

"We have implemented intelligent management throughout the entire process, covering all stages, elements, dimensions, and the full lifecycle of construction. From the very beginning, we utilized BIM modeling, which serves as a comprehensive data pool capturing all the characteristics of this project," explained Wang Fengbin, deputy chief engineer with China Energy Engineering Gezhouba Group.

To protect local fish populations, the project has implemented fish conservation measures with a total investment of 65 million yuan (about 9.13 million U.S. dollars).

This year, 92,000 fry have been released into the Kumarak River to improve the aquatic ecosystem and enhance species diversity.

Water control project to boost power grid stability in southern Xinjiang

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for an official visit to China through Saturday.

This visit marks the first trip to China by a Canadian Prime Minister in eight years.

When briefing on the visit of Carney, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said President Xi Jinping will meet with the Canadian prime minister to provide new strategic guidance for further improving and developing China-Canada relations.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Chairman of China's National People's Congress Standing Committee Zhao Leji will hold separate talks and meetings with the Canadian prime minister to conduct comprehensive and in-depth exchanges on bilateral relations as well as issues of mutual interest.

The spokesperson said China looks forward to taking this visit as an opportunity to enhance dialogue and communication, increase political mutual trust, expand practical cooperation, properly manage differences, address each other's concerns and consolidate the momentum of improvement in China-Canada relations to bring greater benefit for the two peoples.

Canadian PM arrives in Beijing for official visit