The Three Gorges Dam, completed in 2006, is a hydroelectric dam that spans the Yangtze River by the town of Sandouping, located in the Yiling District of Yichang, in Hubei Province, China. The Three Gorges Dam is the world's largest capacity hydroelectric power station with a total generating capacity of 18,200 MW. Coupling the dam's thirty-two main turbines with two smaller generators (50 MW each) to power the plant itself, the total electric generating capacity of the dam will eventually reach 22,500 MW.
The Three Gorges Dam is potentially one of the largest, if not the largest infrastructure projects completed in the 21st century. Clearly, there were a number of key risks that the construction operation faced in completing this project. Based on your research on the Three Gorges Dam, describe in detail six of the specific risks encountered across the spectrum of topic areas (e.g. technical, environmental, societal impact, operations, etc.) that were identified either prior to or during the construction phase. Describe the specific steps that were taken to mitigate these six risks and how successful those mitigation strategies were. Identify any problems that have resulted since completion of the dam in 2006 for the six risks that you identify. Discuss the methodology you recommend for identifying and mitigating these risks factors on future infrastructure projects.