The relocation of people affected by the gigantic Three Gorges Dam Project in China has entered its prime stage.

After three years of strenuous efforts, the relocation work is proceeding smoothly.

By the end of 1996, 21,000 local residents in the dam area had been moved to other places.

A total of 29,300 local residents are set to be resettled before November 1997, when the course-blocking project is scheduled to take place.

The Three Gorges Project was officially launched in December 1994, and is scheduled to last for 17 years, with the relocation of over one million people.

The resettlement, the largest-ever in the human history, is scheduled to cost 40 billion yuan at current prices, and to be completed by 2009.

The Three Gorges Reservoir is designed to cover 1,084 square kilometers, and will affect 21 cities and counties in Hubei and Sichuan provinces. It will wholly or partially submerge two prefectural cities, 11 county-seats, 114 towns and 1,599 factories.

During the 1993-1996 period, the central government allocated nearly 5.8 billion yuan for the relocation program.

By the end of August 1996, 15,333 hectares of land had been cultivated, 118 urban infrastructural projects launched, and 750,000 square meters of houses built as part of the relocation program.

Of the factories to be moved, 64 have been rebuilt, while another 256 are under construction.

To ensure the smooth resettlement, the central government has formulated a series of regulations, policies and principles, including a Regulation on the Relocation Resulting from the Construction of the Three Gorges Project and an outline for the economic development in the dam area.

Since 1995 the government has allocated 500 million yuan in loans annually to help relocated factories upgrade their technology and equipment. A series of preferential policies regarding taxation and import duties have also been adopted to help local people.

Furthermore, the State Council has allowed the project-affected cities and counties to enjoy the same preferential policies granted to coastal open cities in the eastern and southern parts of the country.

Central government departments and developed provinces and cities have also been asked to assist the dam-affected area, in accordance with a circular issued by the State Council in March 1992.

So far, 820 projects with financial and technological support from these departments and areas have been launched with investments of nearly 1.6 billion yuan.