Yan Kai, a prominent water conservancy and coastal engineering expert, died of illness in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu Province at 4:26 AM on May 7 at the age of 94.

Nanjing-based Hohai University, where Yan served as an honorary president, released the information on May 7 evening but declined to tell what illness Yan suffered from.

Yan, also an academician of both the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, was born in August 1912 in the city of Minhou in southeastern Fujian Province.

Graduated from Department of Civil Engineering of Tangshan Engineering Institute of Jiaotong University in 1933, Yan later received civil engineer degree from Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, in 1938.

He served as professor, president, and honorary president of East China Institute of Water Conservancy and later he worked as professor and honorary president of Hohai University.

Yan had been engaged in water conservancy and coastal engineering for nearly 70 years. He conducted research on muddy coast in China and is the founder of coast hydrodynamics and geomorphology in China.

He participated in the rehabilitation and extension of the Tanggu New Port (now renamed Tianjin New Port) in Tianjin since 1951 and was member of the thinking tank for building the Gezhouba Hydroproject and the Three Gorges Project on the Yangtze River.

He was also responsible for the comprehensive management of the Yangtze River Estuary and the Pearl River Delta in south China.

Yan was elected as chairman of Chinese Commission on Large Dams and chairman of Chinese National Committee of the International Program on Hydrology of United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.

Yan won National Award for Advancements in Science and Technology (class 1) in 1992 and the water conservancy exploits award of China in 2001.

(Xinhua News Agency May 9, 2006)