WUHAN, Oct. 8 -- The cargo throughput through the ship lock of the Three Gorges Dam, part of the world's largest hydropower project, totaled 127 million tonnes in the first three quarters this year, up 10.02 percent year on year, data showed Sunday.

This is the first time the ship lock breaks the 120-million-tonne mark during the first three quarters of its 20 years of operation, data from the Three Gorges Navigation Authority showed.

The ship lock handled 32,000 cargo ships during the Jan.-Sept. period this year, according to the authority.

In August alone, the cargo throughput through the ship lock hit 15.71 million tonnes, exceeding the monthly 15-million-tonne mark for the first time.

The ship lock is a part of the Three Gorges project, a multi-functional water control system located on the Yangtze River, the country's longest waterway.