A UN institution was established Tuesday in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, to promote the construction of small hydropower stations.

The institution was set up in accordance with a proposal by the annual conference of the UN Industrial Development Organization in May.

Chinese Vice-Minister of Water Resources Jing Zhengshu said at the inaugurating ceremony that he hoped the institution will make more contributions to worldwide cooperation in the area of renewable energy, especially in promoting cooperation and exchanges in developing small hydro-power stations.

Representatives from the organization spoke highly of China's achievements in the construction of small hydropower stations, saying that China has set a good example for developing countries to alleviate poverty and protect the environment by building small hydropower stations.

Currently, 1,500 out of the 2,400 counties in China have built small hydropower stations, and about 300 million people use electricity generated by these stations.

(Xinhua 12/05/2000)