China's giant south-north water diversion project will be partially completed this year and will start supplying water in 2013, according to an official of?the Shandong Provincial Construction Management Bureau of South-to-North Water Diversion Project.

"About 6 billion yuan (US$952.8 million) will be spent to complete civil construction in Shandong province before the end of this year, so as to ensure the project starts supplying water in the first half of 2013," said Sun Yifu, deputy water resources chief in Shandong province, at a meeting on the project's development on Feb. 4.

Sun also heads the provincial construction management bureau of the south-to-north water diversion project.

The south-north water diversion project, with an estimated total cost of 500 billion yuan, plans to divert 44.8 billion cubic meters of water annually from the Yangtze through eastern, middle and western routes.

China's south-to-north water diversion project consists of three routes, the eastern, middle and western routes. Shandong has been building part of the eastern route.

As of the end of 2011, investment had totaled 15.8 billion yuan (US$2.5 billion) in the province.