Three Gorges ship locks mark 22 years with record freight

The ship locks of the Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydropower facility, mark their 22nd year of operation on Wednesday.

According to the Three Gorges Navigation Administration, since opening, the locks have processed over one million vessels, accommodated 12.2 million passenger journeys, and moved around 2.24 billion tonnes of cargo.

The Three Gorges project serves multiple functions and includes a dam that stretches 2,309 meters in length and rises 185 meters high, flanked by five-tier ship locks on both the north and south sides, and houses 34 turbines with a total generating capacity of 22.5 million kilowatts.

Since opening to commercial vessels on June 18, 2003, the ship locks have operated safely and efficiently. Freight volume has surged from 34 million tonnes initially to a record 169 million tonnes, exceeding 100 million tonnes annually for 11 consecutive years and crossing 150 million tonnes in the past three.

To address the increasing freight demand that exceeds the original design capacity of the locks, the administration has implemented several strategies to streamline navigation and boost maintenance efficiency.