19 August 2003 - The company operating the massive Three Gorges hydropower project has signed its first contracts for the delivery of electricity produced by the dam, the People's Daily reports.

Under the agreements signed at the weekend, China Yangtze Power Corp. will supply electricity to the east China and central China grids, with the main end-users being the cities of Shanghai and Chongqing and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Henan, Hubei, and Hunan.

The contract calls for 2.81bn kilowatt hours to be delivered this year to east China, 2.55bn kWh to central China, and 770m kWh to Chongqing. The average on-grid price for the electricity is 0.25 yuan ($1=CNY8.28) per kWh, the report says.

As more generators are installed and go into operation at the Three Gorges, the project will also expand its delivery of electricity, the report says. The provinces of Guangdong, Jiangxi and Anhui are expected to receive power next year.