Yichang (Xinhua News Agency, Sunday)--This year is the 20th anniversary for the construction of the Three Gorges Project. The latest statistic from the Management Department of the Three Gorges Navigation shows that the Three Gorges Ship-lock has been running with steady and high efficiency for eleven consecutive years since its establishment and openness to vessels on June 18th, 2003. Vessel traffic flow of the Three Gorges Ship-lock broke 70 million tons by the mid of October.

　　According to Li Dingguo, the Deputy Director of the Three Gorges Navigation Management Department, waterways of the Three Gorges Reservoir and the condition of ports have been greatly improved after impounding of the Three Gorges Project. It gives full play to the relative advantages of low cost and large capacity of the Yangtze River Shipping, as well as its efficiency. At the same time, the number of commodities discharge through sluice of the Three Gorges Ship-lock gains a high growth. The number of commodities discharge through sluice of the Three Gorges Ship-lock reached 34.31 million tons in the year of 2004;while in the year of 2011, it broke￥100 million tons, 19 years earlier before the expected goal. From 2011 to 2013, the number of one-way commodities discharge through sluice has consecutively broken records of design level.

　　Cao Guangrong, the Deputy Director of The Bureau of Construction Operation Management for the Three Gorges Hub said that the average annual growth rate of vessels discharge from lockage is up to 94.1% by the end of 2013, 10% higher than the design index, which equals 900 more hours navigation every year.

　　Li Dingguo said that through the joint operation of two dams---the Three Gorges Dam and the Gezhouba Dam, and adoption of remote declare system for lockage and the visual monitor system for ship navigation of vessels, daily average shifts of the Three Gorges Ship-lock have increased from 23 in 2003 to 31 at present. Now room area utilization rate of sluice has been improved from 55% to 70% and the average tonnage of vessels has also been increased from 1040 ton to 3759 ton.

　　By the mid of June of 2014, the double-lane five lifts ship-locks of the Three Gorges Dam have been operated steadily for 11 consecutive years, with 99,400 shifts, 614,400 vessels discharged, 10.51 million visitors and 691 million tons of commodities.

The double-lane five lifts ship-locks of the Three Gorges Dam are the inland one which has the most consecutive lifts and the highest total and delivery head in the world. The water level difference of ship-locks is 113 meters, which is equivalent to a building with 40 stories.