The Three Gorges Dam is strong enough to resist terrorist attacks, Cao Guangjing, deputy general manager of China Yangtze River Three Gorges Project Development Corporation, said Wednesday.

A female worker walks near the Three Gorges Dam under construction near Yichang, along the Yangtze river in central China, Wednesday, May 17, 2006. [AP]

Cao told a news conference that China has enough manpower and equipment to guard the important parts, such as the dam, power plant and lock of the Three Gorges Project.

He said that China took into consideration how to deal with military attacks when the project was first designed. In November last year, China staged an anti-terror drill at the construction site and instituted emergency plans for terrorist attacks by regular weapons or nuclear weapons.

According to the corporation's latest schedule, the construction of the dam structure will be finished on May 20, ten months ahead of schedule, Cao said.

"The construction of the Three Gorges Project is beneficial to the economic growth of China and we cannot reject development for fears of terrorism," he said.

Launched in 1993, the Three Gorges Project, including a 2,309-meter-long, 185-meter-high dam with 26 power generators, is being built in three phases on the middle reaches of the Yangtze, China's longest river.

The gigantic project is expected to generate 84.7 billion kwh of electricity annually when it is finally completed.

Besides its huge power generating capacity, the project is expected to tame flooding on the Yangtze, fuel industrial growth in the area and improve shipping.

The entire project will be completed by 2008, a year ahead of schedule, Cao said.