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LHASA, March 30-- Construction started Saturday on the main structure of a 2,240-MW hydropower station on the Jinsha River, the upper section of the Yangtze River. A cofferdam was built upstream of the construction site on Saturday in preparation for further building work. The Yebatan Hydropower Station is located at the junction of Baiyu County in southwest China's Sichuan Province and Konjo County in Tibet Autonomous Region. It will be the largest hydropower station on the upper reaches of the Jinsha River upon completion. With a total installed capacity of 2,240 MW, the power station will be able to generate about 10.2 billion kilowatt hours of electricity per year. The project is undertaken by China Huadian Corp., with a total investment of about 33.4 billion yuan (about 5 billion U.S. dollars). Wei Yongxin, of Huadian Jinsha River Upstream Hydropower Development Co., Ltd., said the station's first generating unit is expected to start operation in 2025. The power station is expected to replace 3.99 million tonnes of coal and reduce 7.37 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year after it is put into operation, said Jia Zhongqi, another Huadian official. To protect the fragile ecosystem along the upper reaches of the Jinsha River, more than 1.5 billion yuan will be invested in environmental protection projects such as fish ladders and fish breeding stations during the construction of the power station, Jia added. | 
