On November 19, 2021, ICOLD president Mr. Michael Rogers announced that Mr. ZHANG Chaoran won the ICOLD Honorary Member Award at the 89th ICOLD General Assembly.

Mr. Zhang Chaoran is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), and a renowned expert in hydropower and dams. He has successively served as vice president and chief engineer of CHIDI, Chengdu Engineering Corporation Limited, chief engineer and director of Science and Technology Commission of China Three Gorges Corporation.

Mr. Zhang has been dedicated to the design and construction of high concrete dams in China for more than 50 years. He was responsible for the design of Ertan Hydropower project with an installation capacity of more than 3300MW and a high arch dam of 240m. It was the first arch dam high than 200 meters in China. Its experiences have been summarized as design specifications and laid foundation for the follow-up high arch dams in China. He also took charge of the technical design of Xiluodu and Xiangjiaba hydropower projects with installed capacity of 13860MW and 7750 MW respectively. He has made remarkable contribution to the construction of many large hydropower projects and high arch dams as consultant, including 305-meter-high Jinping I, 289-meter-high Baihetan and 270-meter-high Wudongde. He has also paid close attention to international technical communication on reservoir and dam engineering, and has taken an active part in various activities organized by the CHINCOLD and the ICOLD.

The ICOLD Honorary Member Award was established in 2000. It awarded experts who have made outstanding contributions to the development of dams in the world or have made great achievements in the field of dam engineering. Two experts won this award in 2021. The other winner is Mr. Jean Jacques fry from Electricite de France.