A safety monitoring system has been set up in the dam of China's Three Gorges Hydropower Project in preparation for storing water and navigation, according to sources of the builder.

To ensure safe operation, the 2309-meter-long and 185-meter-hight dam built by the Three Gorges Project Development Corporation has adopted the world's most advanced safety monitoring methods, the sources said.

To date, more than 5,100 monitoring instruments have been installed on the dam and 8 million pieces of data have been input in the monitoring system.

The sources said that the monitoring system is able to monitor possible dam deformation, crevices, hydraulics, crustal stress, structural power, the ageing of materials and leaks.

At present, all monitoring apparatus are operational.

A safety appraisal conducted by an expert panel sent by the central government confirms that the dam buildings and metal structures, which will ensure safety once the water storage is completed on June 1, are functioning normally.

(People's Daily May 24, 2003)