The World - News from March 9, 1989

A group of Chinese experts has approved a plan to build a giant dam on the Yangtze River that would involve resettling more than a million people. The 500-member panel approved the Three Gorges Dam proposal after a 32-month study. There is strong opposition to the proposed dam development, and the plan has gone to China’s top leadership for study. Building the huge dam would take about 18 years and cost an estimated $9.8 billion. Critics say the investment is too large, the dam would cause environmental damage and is not suited to China’s current economic conditions.