The project, which grew from a strategy first bandied about in 1958, aims to divert water from the south to the north of China so as to ensure the water supply for farming and industry there.

According to Zhang, the project will have three water diversion routes, namely the East Route, Middle Route and West Route, after 40 years of investigation and analysis.

The three routes will move water from three places along the upper, middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River to the northern destinations.

The construction of each route will be carried out in three phases respectively, Zhang said.

By 2010, the first and second phases of the East Route construction and the first phase of the Middle Route construction should be completed. Total cost of this work will be more than 180 billion yuan (about 22 billion U.S. dollars), Zhang said.

The construction of the West Route, the largest of the three, will cost over 300 billion yuan (about 36 billion U.S. dollars), he added.

He also said the project is crucial for reliving the water shortage, improving the ecosystem and promoting the central government's western region development strategy.

Specific plans for water conservation, pollution treatment and environmental protection have been worked out, Zhang said.

About 42.6 billion yuan will be invested by 2010 to help increase irrigation efficiency, limit the development of high water-consuming enterprises, and spread the use of water-saving equipment.

It is expected that 4.1 billion cubic meters of water will be saved annually in the diversion areas of the Middle Route and East Route.

Pollution control is focused on the East Route. With the aim of improving the quality of diverted water to the standard of Class III, experts have formulated three major schemes to ensure clear water passages, water use limits and water quality improvement.

Among the three schemes, clear water passages are targeted to produce zero discharge of polluted water in the main canals for water diversion. Construction of these passages will cost about 16 billion yuan.

In addition, 102 sewage plants are planned to be built along the route.

Environmental issues, such as the salty water intrusion from the Yangtze estuary, ecological protection of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze's branch river Hanjiang, and the safe operation of the water transportation system of the Middle Route, have also stirred up public attention during the preparation work.

In addition, a water pricing system that conforms to the request of the socialist market economy has been established.

According to Zhang Guoliang, who heads the project design team, the charge of the diverted water will combine the fee for the water from main canals for water diversion with that of water from branch canals and the local water fees in diversion areas.

Zhang said that though the water price will be generally higher after the project is completed, it eventually will be brought down to an affordable range for urban residents and industries.

(Xinhua News Agency November 15, 2001)