CHENGDU, June 6 (Xinhua) -- China started construction work on the Yangtze River's highest dam in the southwestern province of Sichuan on Wednesday, according to local sources.

    The dam, part of the Jinping hydropower station project, will stand 305 meters tall and will take 83 months to complete, said Chen Yunhua, general manager of the Sichuan Ertan Hydropower Development Co. Ltd.

    The first tier of the Jinping hydropower plant began in November 2005 at Jinping, a curve on the Yalong river, a major tributary on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.

    "The river has been dammed and other preliminary work, including several tunnels, has been completed," Chen said.

    With a budget of 24 billion yuan and a designed installed capacity of 3.6 million kw, the plant will be able to generate 16.62 billion kwh of electricity a year when it comes onstream in 2014.

    Chen said the steep terrain has made construction of the dam --being carried out by the seventh bureau of Sinohydro Corporation -- very difficult.

    The plant is part of a national strategy to transmit electricity from the west areas to the east, and will create development opportunities in Sichuan, Chen said.

    The second tier of the Jinping hydropower plant, located 17 km downstream, is already under construction. Its designed installed capacity is 4.8 million kw.

    Yalong River, with a length of 1,571 km, is said to boast hydropower resources equivalent to 346.2 billion kw. Twenty hydropower stations will be built along the waterway to exploit the river's rich hydropower resources.