China starts three major water projects in one day

China kicked off the construction of three major water conservancy projects on Saturday, part of a national plan to invest over 800 billion yuan ($119.6 billion) in the sector this calendar year, which has already seen 18 major water projects launched so far. 

The latest projects include floodgate reconstruction in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, reservoir construction in Central China's Hunan Province and river management in East China's Anhui Province, according to China Media Group (CMG).

The floodgate reconstruction project in the lower reaches of the Yellow River is worth 2.07 billion yuan, including 37 floodgates in 11 cities from East China's Shandong Province to Central China's Henan Province. Construction is scheduled to take 36 months, and it will increase the water supply guarantee rate of the Yellow River irrigation areas in China's major grain-producing areas.

The reservoir project in Hunan will cost 5.11 billion yuan. It will significantly improve the flood control capacity of the area and provide 285,000 tons a day of high-quality water for the urban area of Jishou city and surrounding areas in Hunan, CMG reported, citing an official from the local water conservancy bureau.

The river management project in Anhui will cost 2.56 billion yuan, and it includes tasks involved in strengthening embankments, dredging watercourses and building floodgates. It will provide stronger water conservancy security for 1.5 million people and 2.88 million mu (192,000 hectares) of farmland.

China has been accelerating water conservation projects this year. In the first quarter, 107.7 billion yuan was invested, up 35 percent year-on-year. In the first five months, investment reached 310.8 billion yuan, up 54 percent year-on-year, according to data from China's Ministry of Water Resources (MWR).

This year's investment is more focused than previously on rural areas and projects related to people's livelihoods. The top three types of projects where investment is growing are rural water supply projects, major water conservancy projects, and comprehensive river management and ecological restoration projects, the MWR said.

For instance, 74 rural water supply projects are planned to be launched in Northwest China's Gansu Province. 

From January to May this year, 29.3 billion yuan was invested in the construction of rural water supply projects, improving the water supply for 9.32 million rural people.  The penetration rate of tap water in rural areas has reached 84.47 percent, and large-scale water supply projects now cover 52.8 percent of the rural population, per MWR data.

Water conservancy projects have been playing an increasingly important role in reducing carbon emission. The first million-kilowatt level hydropower station in Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region - the Suwalong Hydropower Station - started to deliver clean electricity to households on Friday. With an installed capacity of 1.2 million kilowatts, it can replace about 5.4 billion kilowatt hours of thermal power annually.