Ertan Hydropower Development Co is developing the project, the second-tiered Jinping hydropower plant, located 17 km downstream from the first-tiered Jinping plant now under construction.
The yuan 29.8 billion ($3.73 billion) project will have a 4.8 GW installed capacity and is scheduled to be finished in 2014.
Construction has also begun on the 6 GW Xiangjiaba hydropower project in Southwest China in Sichuan Province.
The yuan 28.9 billion yuan ($3.68 billion) project is on the Jinsha River near Yibin. When completed in 2015, Xiangjiaba will generate about 31 TWh annually.