China to Invest 1.8 Trillion Yuan in Water Conservation（在线收听）

China's Ministry of Water Resources says the country is to invest 1.8 trillion yuan, or 280 billion US dollars, in water conservation in the coming five years.

The country is also aiming to double its annual investment on water projects.

Shuangfeng has the story.

 
China is aiming to double its average annual spending on water conservation to reach 4 trillion yuan over the next decade.
Zhou Xuewen, chief planner of the Ministry of Water Resources, says that 20 percent of the investment will be used for the construction of farmland irrigation projects.

More than one third of the money will be spent on flood control and disaster reduction programs.

Zhou says that China welcomes foreign investment in all the projects.

"The Chinese government always encourages the use of foreign capital in water conservancy construction. We have been actively utilizing loans from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank in projects for agricultural water conservation and water-soil conservation. We will continue to do this."

China had invested nearly 260 billion yuan in water conservation infrastructure construction by the end of September, with the central government's investment reaching nearly 114 billion yuan.

Jiao Yong, vice minister of water resources, explains how the money was used.

"The investment has been used to improve the availability of safe drinking water for 63.5 million rural residents, teachers and students; to renovate irrigation facilities and to set up early warning systems for flooding in 1100 counties. We are also investing in river management, the construction of key hubs, water source projects and water-soil conservation."

China aims to harness more than 5,000 rivers over the next five years.

Despite severe flooding this year, the country reported no breaches of major rivers or tributaries and no bursts in mid to large-sized reservoirs.

Jiao says China has made progress in water-related issues.

"The proportion of direct economic loss caused by flooding and drought in GDP in the same period is below 0.7 percent and 1.1 percent respectively. The problem of rural drinking water safety has been resolved, and water consumption has decreased 30 percent per unit of GDP and per unit of industrial value added."

The country will also intensify its efforts relating to the restoration of the ecosystems of some environmentally-degraded regions as well as promoting the sustainable use of water.

For CRI, this is Shuangfeng.