CHINA. Sandouping, Hubei. 1998. Construction of the world's largest dam, the Three Gorges Dam, began in 1993. It is scheduled for completion in 2009. In building the dam, one hundred million cubic meters of rock will be drilled and moved. Plans call for generating 18.2 million kilowatts of electricity per hour, with an artificial lake storing over 39 billion tons of water. This will drastically alter the landscape in the Three Gorges area. Drilling of a hill of tough granite continues, and a lock is being built to allow 10, 000 ton ships to pass as far upriver as Chongqing.