China News Service, Lhasa, November 2. Title: Thirty years of deep cultivation on the snowy plateau. Water conservancy and hydropower projects to benefit people empower Tibet’s high-quality development.
Author Lu Xin Zhang Huan
From the landing of the Manla Water Conservancy Project on the Nianchu River, opening up the interconnection channel of the power grids in Lhasa, Shigatse, and Shannan, to the connection of the Ali Shiquan River Hydropower Station to the grid for power generation, which completely ended the history of intermittent power supply from diesel engines in Shiquanhe Town, and then to the construction of the Pangduo Water Conservancy Project, known as the "Three Gorges of Tibet", setting multiple world records, each water conservancy and hydropower project to benefit the people has empowered Tibet's high-quality development.
Over the past thirty years, the China Hydropower Bureau (hereinafter referred to as the Bureau of Hydropower) has actively responded to the national call for aid to Tibet and has devoted itself to the construction of water conservancy, hydropower and infrastructure in Tibet. It has contracted more than 200 contracts of various types and participated in the construction of more than 60 major projects.
According to the relevant person in charge of the Hydropower Infrastructure Bureau, in the 1990s, as the largest project among the 62 key projects to aid Tibet in the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region, the Manla Water Conservancy Project was built on the Nianchu River. In 1996, the Bureau of Hydropower Infrastructure dispatched four units from the Ninth Engineering Division to the site to undertake core construction tasks such as anti-seepage walls and grouting. After completion, the hub will have multiple functions of flood control, storage regulation and power generation. It will open up the interconnection channels of the power grids in Lhasa, Shigatse and Shannan, build the prototype of the power grid in central Tibet, and provide guarantee for the development of local agriculture and animal husbandry and the production and life of the people.
When the Ali Shiquan River Hydropower Station started construction in 2004, the local oxygen content was less than 50% compared to the plains, and the average annual temperature was only 0.2°C. A young team with an average age of less than 30 years fought fiercely in the wilderness for 465 days, completing all basic processing tasks of the power station with high quality. "The completion of the power station and its connection to the grid have completely ended the history of intermittent power supply from diesel engines in Shiquanhe Town. The local electricity price has dropped from 3.5 yuan per kilowatt hour to 0.7 yuan," the person in charge said.
At the same time, the Bureau of Hydropower Infrastructure participated in the construction of the Zhikong Hydropower Station, setting an industry record for the maximum hole-building depth of 79 meters.
The Pangduo Water Control Project, known as the "Three Gorges of Tibet", is the leading control project on the main stream of the Lhasa River. He said that the builders of the Hydropower Infrastructure Bureau had been on site for ten years, cracked the "hard nut" of dam foundation processing, and successively set three world records of the deepest anti-seepage wall of 201.47 meters, the deepest untubing of the connecting trough section joint pipe of 158 meters, and the deepest underwater concrete pouring of 201.47 meters, and obtained 4 national patents.
The person in charge said that over the past thirty years, the Hydropower Infrastructure Bureau has never stopped technological research based on the complex geological conditions of the plateau. At the Rawa Hydropower Station, the Bureau of Hydropower Infrastructure independently developed the SV70 70-meter vibro-gravel pile driver, achieving a construction depth of 71.63 meters, setting a new world record for the same type of equipment, and reducing slag by 40% compared with the traditional process; the Tibet M project vibratory process achieved a construction depth of 92 meters Maximum piling depth, obtained 8 invention patents; Zhuoyu Reservoir built a 108.5-meter-deep anti-seepage wall; in an ultra-deep foundation project in Tibet, the world's deepest concrete anti-seepage wall of 264.08 meters was poured, constantly refreshing the ceiling of plateau foundation construction technology.
Major projects have been implemented and achieved results, and people's livelihood and well-being have continued to improve. In terms of energy security, the Qamdo emergency power supply project was completed in 94 days, with an installed capacity of 20,000 kilowatts, which solved the power supply gap during the dry season in winter and spring. More than 100,000 people bid farewell to frequent power cuts. The Bianba Town Hydropower Station was put into operation, benefiting 15,000 people. Backbone power stations such as Zangmu, Jiacha, and Dobu stably output electric energy to protect the lights of thousands of homes on the plateau.
Drinking water safety continues to improve. The water quality of the Semburi Water Plant is 30% better than the national standard, becoming the lifeline of people's livelihood in Nagqu ecological resettlement; the county water supply project in Alizada County has been put into operation, building a modern water supply system; the people in Sangsang Town, Xigaze can use clean tap water at home.
Water conservancy irrigation nourishes thousands of hectares of fertile farmland. The Pangduo Water Conservancy Project irrigates an area of 652,800 acres, providing 85 million cubic meters of water to Lhasa every year. The urban water supply guarantee rate has increased from 73% to 95%. The Jieba Reservoir guarantees irrigation of 60,000 acres of cultivated land downstream. The Zhuoyu Reservoir has added and improved irrigation area of 39,200 acres.
The construction of the project takes ecological protection into account, and the comprehensive management of the Niyang River Basin is progressing steadily. The water quality of the state-controlled section has been stabilized and maintained at Class II. Local rare fishes such as Schizothorax heterodon are reappearing in the river; the Dobu Hydropower Station has built a 2.8-kilometer ecological fishway, and a total of 500,000 fish fry have been multiplied and released; the Lhasa Valley ecological protection and restoration project has been completed, and 8,000 acres of desertified land has been covered with green. Waterbirds such as brown-headed gulls and red shelducks have returned to inhabit, achieving a win-win synergy between project construction and ecological protection.
While completing the project, the Hydropower Infrastructure Bureau actively fulfilled its social responsibilities and promoted national unity. In the past thirty years, nearly 1 million yuan has been donated to support education, more than 60 Tibetan college students have been employed, and more than 5,000 local farmers and herdsmen have been employed.
