Western water to be diverted to arid north
2 August 2006
China is planning a US$37 billion project to divert water from the highest plateau in the country to the arid north. The western route of the South-North Water Diversion Project would cut through mountains in Sichuan and Qinghai to link the Yangtze and Yellow rivers. A Ministry of Water Resources official told the South China Morning Post the contentious project was essential because China's northwest would sooner or later run out of water. �When the economic and social development in northwest China reaches a certain level and the potential for water conservation is exhausted, this project will be launched,� Li Guoying, the director of the ministry's Yellow River Water Conservancy Committee, said.
