Xiaonanhai Dam upstream from the Three Gorges Dam. Weng Lida, a former director of the water resources bureau at the Yangtze River Commission, said that senior China Three Gorges executives had succumbed to pressure from the Chongqing authorities. According to the "South China Morning Post", Chongqing's success in overcoming all major obstacles to the dam's construction is attributed to the personal intervention of Bo. The project was strongly opposed by environmentalists, who saw it as a "politically motivated decision". It was highly controversial due to the environmental impact, the high cost-benefit ratio, as well as the secretive decision-making process under Bo. A
Three Gorges Reservoir Region 300–340 days. The annual runoff flow at the site of the dam of the Three Gorges Project is 451 billion m³ with the annual sediment discharge of 530 million tons. The Three Gorges abounds in water resources, ecological resources, tourism resources, and the resources of some ores, which have a great potential for exploration. The Yangtze River flows through the Three Gorges Reservoir Region with the good conditions for water transportation and the water-resources development. The potential installed capacity of hydropower can be about 30,000 MW in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region where the water resources are the most abundant