NANNING - Dateng Gorge water conservancy project started water storage Tuesday in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, according to local authorities.

A miter gate larger than that of the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydropower project, had been installed for the project in May last year.

The reservoir's water level will be raised based on the demand for water supply, ecology and shipping from the river downstream, according to Guangxi Datengxia Gorge Water Conservancy Development Co., Ltd.

Water storage will be conducted in two stages. The first stage is to increase the water level to 44 meters to facilitate navigation and power generation, and the second stage will further lift it to 52 meters with a storage capacity of 1.61 billion cubic meters, the company said.

Located in the city of Guiping, the project is one of the important engineering projects listed in China's 13th Five-Year Plan. It is designed for multiple purposes including flood control, navigation and power generation.

It will also reduce river salinity during the dry season, thus ensuring the quality of water supplied to cities in the Pearl River Delta including Macao.