A search for more water resources in the northwestern part of China has produced results, said a senior official from the Ministry of Land and Resources.

Tian Fengshan, minister of land and resources, said in Hohhot of Inner Mongolia on Wednesday that more than 50 new water sources have been discovered in deserts, lava areas, and bitter and salty water areas in the northwestern region, since the program was launched during the ninth Five-Year Plan (1996-2000) period.

Tian said that more than one billion cubic meter of water can be extracted annually from these water-bearing areas. The program has also completed digging over 350 wells, each with a daily water output of 660,000 cubic meters.

The minister said that the ministry has launched more projects to explore water resources in the Ordos Basin in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province and the Tarim Basin in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

(People's Daily 07/06/2000)