A SENIOR Chinese official in charge of water resources said China was confident that it could finance the multi-billion Three Gorges hydro-electric project on the Yangtze River.
Minister of Water Resources, Mr Yang Zhenhuai, said yesterday: ''We absolutely have the ability to rely on our own resources to complete the project.'' He noted that foreign funds would account for less than 10 per cent of the controversial project's costs, which is estimated at 57 billion yuan (HK$76.8 billion) at 1990 prices.
According to a report in yesterday's China Daily, another official revealed that China planned to raise electricity tariffs nationwide to help establish a special fund for the project.
Head of the Yangtze River Water Resources Commission, Mr Wei Tingcheng, said the project would not be an undue financial burden.
A planned electricity price reform and the issuing of bonds and stocks at home and abroad would help raise the money needed.
Mr Wei said the existing Gezhouba hydro-electric power plant on the Yangtze River, which is controlled by the Three Gorges Development Corp, would also raise prices for electricity sent to China's eastern seaboard.
The China Daily did not say how much more the public would be made to pay, but earlier reports said the Government planned to levy US$379 million (HK$2.93 billion) on electricity bills over the next decade to help fund the project.