On December 30th, the world’s highest concrete panel gravel dam—the dam of the Xinjiang Dashixia Water Control Project—was successfully completed, 8 months ahead of the original schedule for this major milestone. This marks a significant achievement in the construction of this national key water control project and lays a solid foundation for the overall timely completion of the project.

Engineering vehicles work at the dam top of the Xinjiang Dashixia Water Control Project on Dec. 27 (photo by UAV). Xinhua News Agency

Located in the middle and lower reaches of the Kumarak River in the Aksu region, at the section of Dashixia Canyon between Wensu County and Wushi County, the Dashixia Water Control Project is one of the 172 major water conservation and water supply projects approved by the State Council. Construction of the project began in September 2021, with a total fill volume of 18.9 million m³ and a maximum dam height of 247m, setting a world record for the construction of concrete panel gravel dams.

Engineering vehicles work at the dam top of the Xinjiang Dashixia Water Control Project on Dec. 27 (photo by UAV). Xinhua News Agency

The natural environment of Dashixia is harsh, with frequent gusty weather, with maximum winds of up to level 14, summer temperatures peaking at 39.5°C, and winter temperatures dropping as low as -22°C. Li Yang, Chief Engineer of the Dashixia Project Department of China Energy Engineering Corporation Limited General Contracting Branch, stated that to ensure the quality of the dam construction, the project team applied intelligent systems. These systems enabled rapid detection of the gradation of dam materials, GPS positioning, and coordinated operation of unmanned rollers. This approach allowed precise monitoring of paving thickness and smoothness, as well as intelligent guidance of paving paths. As a result, the dam construction period was shortened by 8 months, with a settlement rate of only 0.29%, far below the design standard, achieving the goal of "One time for good, quality is first".

Engineering vehicles work at the dam top of the Xinjiang Dashixia Water Control Project on Dec. 27 (photo by UAV). Xinhua News Agency

As one of the first 12 major water conservancy projects under the Ministry of Water Resources’ PPP pilot program, the project, once completed, will have a storage capacity of 1.148 billion m³ and a total installed capacity of 750,000kw. “The Dashixia Water Control Project is also an important livelihood project," said Li Yang. Upon completion, the project will provide ecological water to the main stream of the Tarim River every year, which will effectively alleviate the spring drought and water shortage situation in the Aksu River basin irrigation areas. Additionally, the project will generate up to 1.893 billion kw/h of electricity annually and undertake peak regulation tasks for the power systems of the four regions of South Xinjiang. The early topping out of the dam has laid a solid foundation for the smooth progress of subsequent works and marks a key step towards realizing the comprehensive benefits of the project.

Engineering vehicles work at the dam top of the Xinjiang Dashixia Water Control Project on Dec. 27 (photo by UAV). Xinhua News Agency

Engineering vehicles work at the dam top of the Xinjiang Dashixia Water Control Project on Dec. 27 (photo by UAV). Xinhua News Agency

Engineering vehicles work at the dam top of the Xinjiang Dashixia Water Control Project on Dec. 27 (photo by UAV). Xinhua News Agency