Four new hydropower plants will be constructed on the Jinsha River in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, according to information from the provincial government of Yunnan in southwest China.

The hydropower plants will have a combined generating capacity of 38.5 million kw and located on the middle and upper reaches of the Jinsha River. They will be developed by the Three Gorges Project Development Corporation, the developer of the famous Three Gorges Project being built in the middle of the Yangtze.

Two of the four power plants, Xiluodu and Xiangjiaba hydropower plants, have been approved by the central government and will start construction next year.

The provincial government recently drafted a letter of intent seeking cooperation with the Three Gorges Project Development Corporation. The government hopes to turn the middle and upper reaches of Jinsha River into the country's largest energy base, which will send power from the energy-rich but economically-poor western China to economically developed eastern areas.