China plans to build 27 major water conservation projects in 2015, with about half concentrated in western regions, in an attempt to promote urbanization, water resources authorities said on Tuesday.
"The amount of investment in major water conservation projects will be further increased this year, compared with the 488 billion yuan ($79.74 billion) last year," Jiao Yong, deputy head of China's Ministry of Water Resources, told a press conference Tuesday.
"The water conservation projects will help expand China's domestic demand and support economic growth," Jiao noted.
They are part of China's plan for 172 water conservation projects.
Jiao said a batch of small and medium reservoirs is expected to be built in counties and small cities to ensure urbanization due to their surging populations.
2014 saw the launch of 17 projects, 10 of which were constructed in the west.
Jiao cited the Jiayan reservoir in Bijie county, Southwest China's Guizhou Province as an example. With an investment of 18.3 billion yuan, the project not only guarantees urban water supply but also alleviates the county's environmental concerns following soil erosions.
The government pledged to further increase land compensation and resettlement allowance to those who relocate over water conservation projects.
Meanwhile, Jia promised to carefully study the western route of the south-to-north water diversion project that feeds the thirsty Northwest and North China, including Gansu Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, "with water conservation as a priority."
Beijing has received more than 100 million cubic meters of water from the south since December 12, when water was diverted from Hubei Province to Beijing, Jiao said.
"It is too early to evaluate the effectiveness of the middle route of the mega project because it's only been four months since it began … I am confident that the project will play a dominant role in the economic development of northern China," Jiao said.
Xinhua contributed to this story
