Chinanews, Chongqing, Sept 12 – Chongqing municipal government is considering to relocate more rural residents from the Three Gorges Dam area to Chongqing's downtown area or to Wanzhou urban district in Chongqing. This time, the relocation project might involve 2.3 million people, double the number of the first relocation, the 21st Century Business Herald reported.On August 21, Chongqing municipal government held a work meeting to review a draft program on economic and social development in the northeast area of Chongqing. “The final version of the draft will be publicized after it has been approved by the Chongqing municipal government,” a person at Chongqing Municipal Development and Reform Commission told this reporter earlier this month.The northeast area of Chongqing consists of 11 districts and counties, including Wanzhou, Fengjie, Zhongxian, Fengdu, Wushan, Wuxi, Dianjiang, Liangping, Chengkou, Kaixian ,and Yunyang, all located near the Three Gorges Dam area.According to the program, about 2.3 million people living in the northeast area in Chongqing will be moved to the city’s downtown area or to Wanzhou from 2007 to 2020.This will be considered as the second relocation program taking place near the Three Gorges Dam area. The first relocation, which began more than ten years ago, has enabled 1.13 million people to move away from the Three Gorges Dam area.After the second relocation, the permanent residents living in the northeast area of Chongqing will be reduced to 7 million. With many people leaving the place, a large area of land can be used to grow trees so as to improve the ecological environment of the Three Gorges Dam and the Yangtze River region.