¡¡¡¡THREE GORGES DAM SITE, Hubei Province, Nov. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- The chief engineer of the massive Three Gorges dam project said here Tuesday that the dam will have a long life with a high standard of safety.

¡¡¡¡Zhang Chaoran, chief engineer of the China Yangtze River Three Gorges Project Development Corporation, said the project had China's best construction team, the world's most advanced equipment andthe latest technology.

¡¡¡¡The safety of a dam was decided by the quality of concrete, said the engineer, adding that the concrete used in the project was at least 10 times better than that in ordinary dams.

¡¡¡¡Domestic and foreign experts who were invited to supervise the project. According to the latest conclusions from an expert committee of renowned Chinese scientists, the general quality of the project was good and could satisfy the design requirements.

¡¡¡¡Zhang also explained the cracks found earlier this year in the dam, saying the 70 or so surface cracks would not cause fundamental damage and had been treated to meet safety standards. Enditem