Asia PR News

CHICAGO, July 30 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ –

New Facility on Yalong River Will Add to Country’s Renewable Energy Generation
Portfolio

MWH, a global provider of environmental engineering, construction and
strategic consulting services, announced today that it has been selected by
Ertan Hydropower Development Company, Ltd. (EHDC) to provide engineering and
construction management consulting services for the Jinping I Hydropower
project in China.
Located on the Yalong River in the Sichuan Province of southwest China,
the Jinping I Hydropower project will consist of a double-curvature, thin arch
dam that, when finished, will stand at 305 meters. Among all of the dams
completed, under construction or in the design process, Jinping I is
considered one of the highest in the world. The project will provide a
significant reservoir for flood control and will have a generation capacity of
3600 megawatts (MW). The hydropower produced at Jinping I will ultimately pay
for the project’s construction costs, which are estimated at RMB 24.6 billion
(US $3.3 billion), with MWH’s revenue over the next five years forecasted at
more than US $5 million.
"EHDC and MWH have worked together since the early 1980s and have
developed a strong, mutually beneficial relationship. Having delivered
excellent work in the past, we are confident that MWH will continue to help
protect the interests of EHDC and the Chinese people in building this historic
and strategic hydropower project," said Chen Yunhua, General Manager of EHDC.
In the 1980s MWH provided engineering and construction management
consulting services to EHDC on the Ertan Hydropower Station (3300 MW), the
first hydroelectric project on the Yalong River and China’s largest hydropower
project completed in the 20th century. More recently, MWH provided dam design
optimization and geological assessment services to EHDC for the Jinping I
Hydroelectric project in November 2002.
"We are delighted to once again team with EHDC on the development of the
Yalong River and the historic Jinping I project," said Alan Krause, president
of the Natural Resources, Infrastructure and Industry unit of MWH. "MWH is
committed to helping China harness the energy-producing potential of their
rivers with hydropower; a mature, reliable and renewable technology."
In the newly signed contract, MWH will be involved in construction quality
control for the concrete construction of the Jinping I dam, and will provide
project and executive management training. MWH will also provide a full-time,
on-site, concrete expert to assist with the planning, execution, quality
assurance and quality control of the concrete dam.
The Yalong River, which is 1,571 kilometers (km) long, is estimated to
have 34.62 gigawatts in hydropower resources. The Jinping I Hydropower project
is just one of 21 schemes planned along the main stream of the Yalong River,
utilizing 2,813 meters of its natural drop. In addition to the Jinping I,
Yalong River development includes the construction and commissioning of the
Jinping II Hydropower project, Guandi Hydropower project, Tongzilin Hydropower
project and the Lianghekou Hydropower project by 2025. Located 17 km
downstream from the Jinping I Hydropower plant, Jinping II is already under
construction. It has a designed installed capacity of 4800 MW.

About Ertan
Ertan Hydropower Development Company, Ltd. (EHDC) was established in 1988,
and was reformulated into a limited liability company in 1995 with the
following shareholder structure: State Development Investment Company (48%),
Sichuan Provincial Investment Group Co., Ltd (48%) and Sichuan Electric Power
Company (4%). EHDC’s registered capital is RMB 4.6 billion. Authorized by the
State, and following the "four strategic stages in developing the hydro-energy
of Yalong River," EHDC is fully responsible for development and operation of
the cascade power stations.
EHDC has a staff of 521 people, including 171 people of Ertan Hydropower
Plant. It is located in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province. Mr. Chen
Yunhua is the General Manager. EHDC’s objective is to grow into an
internationally recognized producer of renewable energy with an installed
generation capacity of more than 30,000 MW.

MWH’s Dam and Hydropower Services
MWH has been providing engineering services to the dam and hydropower
sector since 1920 and is currently working on numerous dam and hydropower
projects throughout North and South America, Europe, Australia, Asia and
Africa. MWH has played a key role in some of the largest dam and hydropower
projects in the world, including the Three Gorges Dam in China, Ghazi Barotha
Hydroelectric Scheme in Pakistan, Tekeze Dam in Ethiopia, Caruachi
Hydroelectric Project in Venezuela and Karahnjukar Hydroelectric Project in
Iceland.

About MWH
Headquartered in Broomfield, Colo., MWH is a private, employee-owned firm
with approximately 6,000 employees worldwide. The company provides water,
wastewater, energy, natural resource, program management, consulting and
construction services to industrial, municipal and government clients in the
Americas, Europe, Middle East, India, Asia and the Pacific Rim. For more
information about MWH, please visit the company’s Web site at
http://www.mwhglobal.com.

SOURCE MWH
-0- 07/30/2007
/CONTACT: Paul Lonnegren, +1-303-410-4017, Paul.lonnegren@mwhglobal.com,
or Resa Furey, +1-303-533-1931, resa.furey@mwhglobal.com, both of MWH/
/Web site: http://www.mwhglobal.com /