THE project to harness the　Nyangchu River, the biggest water-conservancy work ever built in Tibet, has been under way since June this year.

It is scheduled for completion　in 1985, and will help turn　the 11,900-square-kilometre Nyangchu River basin into one　of the major marketable grain　bases in Tibet.

A tributary of the Yalu　Tsangpo River, the Nyangchu　tumbles 198 kilometres through　four counties of the Shigatse Prefecture, where the climate is mild and the soil fertile. Because there were no projects to　control the river, it used to　cause erosion over vast stretches of farmland. Per-hectare　grain yield in the four counties averaged a meagre 0.7 ton before 1959, the year democratic reform came to Tibet.

A number of small water　conservancy projects were built　after the democratic reform to　enhance some of the farmland's ability to fend off drought and water logging. As a result, average per-hectare grain output reached a little more than　two tons.

The current Nyangchu project envisages straightening the main river course and building 20 or　so ancillary works including　trunk irrigation channels, reservoirs, small hydroelectric stations and water-diversion installations. When completed, the project will make possible　the reclamation of more than　7,000 hectares of virgin soil and also basically solve the problem　of irrigation on both sides of　the river.

The state has sent to the site　a number of bulldozers, graders　and caterpillar scrapers to speed up the work.

Apart from the Nyangchu　project, Tibet will harness the Yalu Tsangpo and Lhasa Rivers to help boost the local economy at a faster pace.

(This article appears on page 30, No. 42, 1978)