The plateau can be windy in the spring, something we notice right away at the Yarlung Water Reservoir construction site. The wind makes it hard to stand, but the site is bustling. Plenty of excavators, loaders, and trucks are busy at work.

“Ever since we started work in July of 2014, we have stayed on top of the construction time line, improved workload management, and organized workflow. Everything is on track.” Said Li Haolu, manager of the construction site. 

Li said, while construction at the water reservoir is a top priority, every agency is actively working on the land reclamation and resident relocation initiatives, so that all the residents can have a good move, settle down in their new homes, and have future work opportunities. In the past two years, more than 45 million yuan have been generated for local farmers and shepherds.

Nyima Tsering, a farmer in Yasang Village’s income-assistance group, saidexcitedly told our reporter, "We only made money from odd jobs before, now, with help from the village and county, we have our own excavator. We can work in construction all year and have doubled our income. Life has gotten better for us."

Inside Sonam Khamtrul’s new home, a 430 sqm two-story house, the newly-relocated resident is cooking dinner. The spacious yard is clean and tidy. Inside the brightly-lit living room filled with beautiful Tibetan style furniture, there is a LCD TV, a fridge, a washing machine, and other modern appliances.

Watching her grandkids playing in the backyard, Soinam looked elated. “Before we moved, our place was small and hard to get to. And a year’s work only got us 50, 60 thousand yuan. Now we live in a bigger and better place. There’s a bus outside the door going to the city every 15 minutes, it’s easy to go anywhere. Other than our jobs, we can also work on the reservoir. The transportation work alone pays more than 110 thousand yuan a year.”

“When the water reservoir is built, our life will be even better.” Soinam has reasons to be confident. A total of 470 million yuan was invested in Yarlung Reservoir. The reservoir has a total capacity of 22.06 million cubic meters, is designed for 90 thousand mu of irrigation, and will provide 3 million cubic meters of water supply for towns and villages. This key project combines hydraulic irrigation, residential water supply, and environmental protection. When completed, it will solve the land irrigation problems for Yaduixiang, Pozhangxiang, Changzhuzhen, and Zedang, with planned irrigation for 90.9 thousand mu. 

“After construction began, all of the involved agencies have made effective efforts in quality assurance, safety management, and project management to make sure the project is done well and on track. So far, we have finished 320 million yuan in investment.” Said Wangchen, vice chairman of the Party Committee of the Lhoka Water Resources Bureau and Vice Bureau Chief. “With the current project status and progress, we estimate that we can finish the main dam this year and hopefully start water storage below the sluice gate ahead of schedule.”