A hydropower plant with the biggest single-unit capacity in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region started operation on Sunday.

The Zhikong Hydropower Plant, located about 100 km northeast of the regional capital of Lhasa, is equipped with four generating units each having a capacity of 25,000 kw, said Wang Qinghua, director of the Tibet Regional Power Bureau.

The plant can generate 407 million kwh of electricity a year, mainly for key areas in Tibet, including Lhasa City and the prefectures of Shannan, Xigaze and Nagqu, Wang said.

"It helps ease short power supply in these areas," he added.

Apart from to power generation, the hydropower plant also plays a role in flood control and irrigation, he added.

Construction on the plant started in October 2002 on the Lhasa River with an investment of 1.34 billion yuan (US$0.18 billion).

Its reservoir holds 224 million cubic meters of water with a dam of more than 50 meters in height.

(Xinhua News Agency September 24, 2007)