Xinhua News Agency, Wuhan, February 21 (Reporter Li Siyuan, Tanaka Quan) The reporter learned from the China Three Gorges Corporation that the Three Gorges North Line Ship Lock started the planned suspension and maintenance in 2024 in the early morning of the 21st, with a maintenance period of 45 days, and is scheduled to resume navigation on April 6. During the suspension and maintenance period, the locks of the South Line of the Three Gorges will be one-way traffic and regular reversing. The Three Gorges vertical ship lift is operating normally, and ships that meet the traffic conditions can quickly cross the dam.
The Three Gorges Locks are open to navigation 24 hours a day all year round, and because some equipment has been operating underwater for a long time, it is necessary to regularly suspend navigation for a comprehensive "physical examination" to ensure stable operation and navigation safety. According to reports, compared with the previous planned shutdown and maintenance, in addition to carrying out routine maintenance of herringbone doors and reverse arc doors, metal structure maintenance of lock chambers, maintenance of hydraulic equipment and electrical systems, bridge cranes and track beam anti-corrosion and other conventional maintenance projects, the maintenance also added a centralized control system and on-site control system and other transformation projects, which will further improve the operation safety of the Three Gorges Lock.
By the end of 2023, the Three Gorges River Basin Management Center has organized and implemented 7 planned shutdowns and overhauls for the Three Gorges Locks, including 3 for the North Ship Lock and 4 for the South Ship Lock.
*: Xinhuanet).