China began check on the dam on the right bank of the Three Gorges Project on the Yangtze River at Yichang, central China's Hubei Province on Sunday.

A total of 43 experts were dispatched by the Three Gorges Project Construction Committee under the State Council, or China's cabinet, to inspect the quality of the project.

The check will last till May 23, said Ding Qihua with the China Yangtze River Three Gorges Project Development Corporation which is in charge of the project.

By then, the expert panel will make a final appraisal about whether the right bank dam is strong enough to hold water, Ding said.

Construction for the giant dam of the Three Gorges hydropower project on the Yangtze River was expected to finish on May 20, nine months ahead of the schedule, Cao Guangjing, deputy general manager of the China Yangtze River Three Gorges Project Development Corporation, said a week ago.

The completion of the construction for the dam, 2,309 meters long and 185 meters high, marks the principal part of the project, said Cao.

Launched in 1993, the Three Gorges Project, including the dam and 26 generators on both banks of the Yangtze, is planned to be completed in 2009 and by then, it will be able to generate 84.7 billion kwh of electricity annually.

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