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Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –
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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
CHENGDU, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) — China on Friday launched a major project to divert water from the Daduhe River to the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, bringing additional water to the water-starved city of Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province.
For 2,000 years, the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, built in the 3rd century BC and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has diverted part of the waters of the Minjiang River, a tributary of the Yangtze River, into the vast Chengdu Plain, making it the most productive region in China. However, as western China accelerates its socioeconomic development, water shortages in the Chengdu Plain are becoming increasingly pressing.
The project is expected to be completed over an eight-year period. According to the plan, water pumped from the Daduhe River, after overcoming natural elevation changes through over 260 kilometers of tunnels and pipelines, will be delivered to the Chengdu Plain. This additional water, along with some from the Minjiang River, will become the two main water sources for the Chengdu Plain.
Water resources in Sichuan Province are unevenly distributed. The western part of Sichuan Province has abundant water, while the eastern part suffers from severe water shortages. By 2030, the population of the lowland economic zone is projected to exceed 46 million, leading to a critical water shortage by 2035.
According to the plan, water supply from the Daduhe River to the irrigated areas of the Dujiangyan system will reach 1.39 billion cubic meters by 2040, and by 2050, the project's water inflow into the Dujiangyan system will reach 1.52 billion cubic meters. By then, the water supply network will cover 43 county-level administrative units in Sichuan Province. 34.13 million local residents will gain access to additional water resources.
Li Zhiyuan, Director of the Second Engineering and Design Branch of Sichuan Water Development Investigation, Design and Research Co., Ltd., noted that after the new project is put into operation, the water supply level for industrial and domestic needs in the Chengdu Plain will rise from the current 90 percent to 97 percent, and the level of agricultural irrigation will reach 80 percent. The project will perform functions such as urban and rural water supply, irrigation, ecological replenishment of water reserves, and emergency water supply.
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