Capping has been completed on the Dashixia Water Control Project in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region eight months ahead of schedule, laying a solid foundation for the timely completion of the dam.
Located in the Aksu region of Xinjiang, the project is one of the 172 key national water-saving and supply projects approved by the State Council and, at 247 meters, is currently the world’s highest concrete-faced sand-gravel dam. Launched in September 2021, a total of 18.9 million cubic meters of materials have been used in the construction of the dam.
Frequented by hail, the area around the dam experiences extreme temperatures, with highs of 39.5 degrees Celsius in summer and lows of minus 22 degrees Celsius in winter. The use of Artificial Intelligence has helped workers from China Energy Engineering Group Co., Ltd. overcome many technological hurdles on-site, including the GPS positioning and coordinated operations of autonomous roller fleets.
Once operational, the dam will have a reservoir capacity of 1.15 billion cubic meters and a total installed capacity of 750,000 kilowatts. It will provide ecological water to the mainstream of the Tarim River annually, alleviating spring droughts in the irrigation zones of the Aksu River basin.
The project will also generate an annual electricity output of 1.9 billion kilowatt-hours, supporting peak regulation for the power system in southern Xinjiang.
(Executive editor: Zhu Zeya)