Xiaonanhai Dam total of 338 freshwater fish species have been identified on the Yangtze. 189 live in the area — currently a preservation — and many of those are found in no other river basin in China. An official study by the Yangtze River Commission in 2003 concluded that the Xiaonanhai dam could not be recommended due to its "unremarkable economic returns". According to "Chongqing Daily", project cost per-kilowatt is triple that compared with other projects along the Yangtze: with total investment estimated at ¥32 billion, the project will cost ¥16,000 per-kilowatt of capacity, whereas the Three Gorges dam, Xiluodu Dam and
Three Gorges Dam become safer, since the gorges are notoriously dangerous to navigate. Ships with much deeper draft will be able to navigate upstream from Shanghai all the way to Chongqing. It is expected that shipping to Chongqing will increase fivefold. There are two series of ship locks installed near the dam (). Each of them is made up of five stages, with transit time at around four hours. Maximum vessel size is 10,000 tons. The locks are 280 m long, 35 m wide, and 5 m deep (918 × 114 × 16.4 ft). That is 30 m longer than those on the