East China's Anhui Province has been mulling construction of a waterway connecting the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River, according to Anhui provincial government.

The Yangtze-Huaihe Canal will transfer water from the Yangtze River, China's longest, to the Huaihe River, which runs through the country's east between the Yangtze and Yellow rivers.

The provincial government has decided to commit the canal construction to Anhui Provincial Transport Investment Group, it said.

The canal will stretch for 290 kilometers through three cities in Anhui, Chaohu, Hefei and Liu'an, focusing on functions including water supply, navigation and environmental protection, according to the provincial water transport layout.

Due completion, the project will cut shorter water transport distance between the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers.

Currently, all goods have to make a detour to the 1,794-km-longBeijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal when transported between the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers. On completion, the waterway will cut shorter at least 400 kilometers.

The Huaihe River basin has been an important grains and energy base in China.

(Xinhua News Agency December 22, 2004)