[PRC's official news agency]

LHASA, Sept. 23, 2007 (Xinhua) -- A hydropower plant with the biggest
single-unit capacity in southwest Chinas Tibet
Autonomous Region started operation on Sunday.

The Zhikong Hydro power Plant, located about 100 km northeast of the
regional capital of Lhasa, is equipped with four generating units each
having a capacity of 25,000 kw, said Wang Qinghua,director of the Tibet
Regional Power Bureau.

The plant can generate 407 million kwh of electricity a year,mainly for
key areas in Tibet, including Lhasa City and the prefectures of Shannan,
Xigaze and Nagqu, Wang said.

It helps ease short power supply in these areas, he added.

Apart from to power generation, the hydro power plant also plays a role
in flood control and irrigation, he added.

Construction on the plant started in October 2002 on the Lhasa River
with an investment of 1.34 billion yuan.

Its reservoir holds 224 million cubic meters of water with a dam of more
than 50 meters in border=1 Height.