During the recent visit of our President to China, an MoU was signed between the Yangtze River Three Gorges Project Development Corporation and WAPDA. Under the agreement, China will provide technical assistance to Pakistan in the field of hydel power generation. Mr. Li Yong, President of the Three Gorges Project Development, briefed our delegation on the salient features of the Three Gorges Dam. This is the world 's largest dam having the generating capacity of 22, 500 MW. This dam is built on Yangtze River, China's longest water artery that runs in central Hubei province. The Pakistani President praised the Three Gorges Dam and termed it an 'engineering marvel' that reflects the genius of the Chinese people and the vision of their leadership. The generating capacity of the Three Gorges Dam is five times that of the proposed Bhasha Dam, which will generate 4500MW on its completion and more than six times that of the proposed Kalabagh Dam (3500MW). It is strongly suggested that the government should act fast to start the construction of both these dams so that roughly 8200 MW of electricity can be generated on top priority from our hydel resources. Per unit generation cost is estimated to be Rs. 0.50 for hydel against a whopping Rs. 16 from power generated by the IPPs. -ENGR. MUNAWAR HUSSAIN, via e-mail, February 25.