LHASA - The output of bottled natural drinking water from Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region, known as "Asia's water tower," will surpass one million metric tons this year.

Qiu Chuan, deputy director of the regional industry and information technology department, said Tibet has more than 40 bottled water production lines with combined capacity of 3.25 million tons a year.

In 2016, 600,000 tons of bottled water from Tibet were sold, up 41 percent year-on-year, according to Qiu.

Tibet is rich in water resources, with the total topping 400 billion cubic meters.

According to a 10-year plan for water industry development introduced by the regional government in 2015, Tibet has identified its fresh water resources as a new sustainable economic growth pillar with potential to support poverty reduction.