Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/HEFEI: To divert water from China’s longest Yangtze to the Huaihe River, a mega water project started its trial operation here on Friday.
The 723 km long water diversion project took six years to complete. It will supply water to 15 cities in central China’s Henan Province and east China’s Anhui Province to benefit around 50 million inhabitants.
The construction of the second phase of this mega water project also started on Friday with an investment of 2.93 billion $.
This mega project will be used for agricultural irrigation, shipping, and water supply for residents. It will help improve the Huaihe River’s and Chaohu Lake’s ecological environment.
Annual water supply
According to the president of Anhui Provincial Group Limited for Yangtze-to-Huaihe Water Diversion, Zhang Xiaowu, the project will help restore the ecology of Chaohu lake by supplying over 500 million cubic meters of water annually. It can also transfer water to the trunk stream of the Huaihe River to prevent it from drying up.
This complex water project overcame multiple technical difficulties during construction and was considered biodiversity conservation. The channel was moved westward to make way for migratory birds, while multiple passageways were built to facilitate fish migration.
