The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top industry planning body, has given the initial go-ahead to what will be the nation's third-largest hydropower station.

The Baihetan hydropower station on the Jinsha River, an upstream branch of the Yangtze River, would be third biggest behind the Three Gorges project and the Xiluodu power station.

The planned power station will be sited on the lower reaches of the Jinsha River, between the borders of Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in Southwest China.

"We have been studying the feasibility of constructing a plant on the river for years," said Jin Changjiang, a spokesman for the China Three Gorges Project Corporation (CTGPC), which wants to build the power station.

The Baihetan hydropower station on the Jinsha River, would be third biggest behind the Three Gorges project and the Xiluodu power station, it will have an installation capacity of 12,000 MW and an average annual power output of 56 billion kilowatt hours. [China Daily]

The station would have an installation capacity of 12,000 MW (megawatts) and an average annual power output of 56 billion kilowatt hours, according to a company statement.

It would complement three other hydropower stations on the lower reaches of the Jinsha River, Xiluodu, Wudongde and Xiangjiaba.

On completion, the four hydropower stations together will have the capacity to produce twice as much electricity as the Three Gorges project.

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