A 7.5 billion yuan (US$1.06 billion) hydroelectric construction project in southeast China is under investigation for alleged corner-cutting and legal violations, prompting concerns among experts about serious safety issues and a demand for answers from state media.
The Yongan power station in Fujian province is a priority project under the national pumped-storage development goals of the five-year plan covering 2021 to 2025, aimed at safeguarding regional power stability and taking forward the green transition.
The reported malpractices have come under public scrutiny after the state-run Economic Information Daily published an investigative report on Thursday that alleged substandard material use and sloppy construction practices.
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The investigation claimed there were “serious quality defects” in the station’s lower reservoir – a core hub of its power generation – and other problems that experts said could threaten the overall safety of the dam.
In a statement on Saturday, Power Construction Corporation of China said it “attached great importance to the matter”. Also known as PowerChina, it is one of the world’s largest engineering and construction firms and parent company of the contractors for the project.
The company said it had set up an investigation group regarding the “quality issues” of the power station’s construction. “We will work with relevant parties to conduct a thorough investigation and handle the issue in accordance with laws and regulations.”
Staff members from the National Energy Administration had been sent to the site on Friday as part of a joint investigation with local government authorities, according to another report on Sunday by the Economic Information Daily, which is owned by state news agency Xinhua.
Construction began last December on the lower reservoir for the pumped-storage power station. The system works by pumping water from there to an upper reservoir when electricity is abundant and releasing it during peak demand to generate power.