China Yangtze River Three Gorges Project Development Corporation began to issue bonds worth more than 3 billion yuan (about 370 million U.S. dollars) as of Thursday.

It is the seventh debenture made by the corporation, developer of the multi-functional water control and power generation facility that is being constructed on the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.

The money pooled via the debenture will be used to finance construction of the project itself, compensating displaced residents from the Three Gorges Reservoir, and future hydro-electric developments on the upper reaches of the Yangtze, said Lin Chuxue, deputy general manager of the corporation.

The bonds, with a term of 20 years and an annual interest rate of 4.15 percent, are sold in 1,000-yuan units, and investors are required to register using their real names.

The issuance will be completed within five workdays, and the issuer will apply for stock exchange trading of the bonds within six months after the issuance is completed, according to Lin.

The corporation has issued eight categories of corporate bonds in its previous six rounds of money-pooling since 1996, with 17 billion yuan (2.1 billion U.S. dollars) still outstanding.

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. The project will be able to generate 84.7 billion kwh of electricity annually upon completion.

Source: Xinhua