China to launch Hebei-Beijing emergency water diversion program
( 2003-09-24 21:34) (Xinhua)
Construction will start in October on a water diversion project to supply
water to Beijing in case of a water shortage from the central part of north
China's Hebei Province, a provincial official said in Shijiazhuang
Monday.
The official with the Water Resources Department of the Hebei
provincial government said the project involves a 225-km water diversion
channel, which starts from Shijiazhuang City, capital of Hebei Province, and
ends in Beijing.
Several engineering projects, including tunnels, will be
launched later this year as part of the program.
The project is also known as the Shijiazhuang-Beijing section of
the huge program to divert water from the Yangtze River to north China through
the provinces of Henan and Hebei.
The project, which is expected to cost 12.6 billion yuan
(US$1.53 billion), will be completed by the end of 2006, said the
official.
The planned water diversion channel will enable water resources
departments to divert water from four big reservoirs in the Taihang Mountain
areas in Hebei to Beijing for use in the event of an acute water
shortage.
To alleviate the water shortage in north China, China started a
water diversion program late last year to divert water from the Yangtze River to
Shandong Province, east China, and some regions in north China through the
provinces of Shandong and Jiangsu.
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