Projects to ease impact of Three Gorges Dam

BEIJING - China said on Wednesday that the Three Gorges Project, the world's biggest hydropower complex, had affected shipping, irrigation and water supply downstream on the Yangtze River.

The disclosure came after the State Council passed plans for future work on the project and for the prevention and treatment of water pollution in the downstream valley.

The giant project is also facing problems that need immediate solutions, such as the livelihoods of people displaced by the project, the protection of ecosystems as well as the prevention and treatment of geological hazards, according to a statement issued after the State Council conference.