YICHANG, Hubei Province, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Three Gorges Project, the world's largest hydropower project, generated 49.2 billion kilowatt-hours (kwh) of electricity in 2006.

    The electricity generated by the project is used in 15 provinces in central, eastern, southern and southwestern China, alleviating power shortage in these regions.

    About 298 billion cubic meters of water flowed through the Three Gorges dam in 2006, the lowest for 137 years and down 33.9 percent from the average figure in previous years, according to an official in charge of the project.

    In 2006, the Three Gorges Project Corporation signed contracts with the State Power Grids to presell nearly 300 billion kwh of electricity to the State Power Grids for the 2006-2010 period, the largest bill for China's power projects.

    Launched in 1993 and built at an estimated cost of 180 billion yuan (about 22.5 billion U.S. dollars), the Three Gorges Project on the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, China's longest, will eventually have 26 generators with a combined generating capacity of 18.2 million kw and be able to generate 84.7 billion kwh of electricity annually. The whole project is due to be completed in 2008.