Yunnan to Invest Heavily in Water Conservancy ProjectsSouthwest China's Yunnan Province plans to invest seven billion yuan (US$843 million) to construct a series of water conservancy projects in the coming five years.Kong Chuizhu, director of the provincial water resources bureau, said that the projects will include two large reservoirs and 48 medium-sized reservoirs, mainly in remote areas and places inhabited by ethnic groups. China is a country which suffers from a serious water shortage, with per-capita water resources only one fourth of the world's average. About 30 percent of Yunnan's farmland is threatened by a shortage of water, and nearly five million people and 3.5 domestic animals do not have easy access to drinking water. Drought brings three billion yuan-worth of economic losses to the province annually. Local officials said that upon completion, the projects will add or improve a total of 21,000 hectares of irrigated farmland, raise the annual grain output by 600,000 tons and supply 300 million cubic meters of water for local people. |
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