A drinking water project, begun in 1988 to supply water for hundreds of thousands of people in northwest China, is still not fully up and running because of a lack of cash.

The 17-year-old project, which draws water from the Yellow River to supply people in the northeastern provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu and the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, is believed to be the largest of its kind in Asia.

Although the main pipeline has been laid and more than 900 million yuan (US$108 million) spent, auxiliary pipes linking it to the homes of 360,000 thirsty residents have not been completed.

Only 110,000 people and 170,000 livestock are getting water through the project, far from the original target.

Around 1.27 million livestock should be drinking water from the scheme.

The main project is invested in by the central government while the auxiliary project needs investment from local government, said Zong Zhijian, vice-president of the Yellow River Planning and Design Company.

An unnamed county government official in Dingbian County, Shaanxi Province, said local leaders at first thought the scheme was very important.

But when they heard how high the operating costs were, they saw it as a burden.

The four counties covered by the project are all poverty-stricken.

Harsh natural conditions and backward infrastructure are mainly to blame for the water shortages.

Zong said many counties are suffering from worsening water shortages and water being poisoned by fluorine.

According to a report by the company which carried out the major part of the project, total investment has actually reached 958 million yuan (US$115 million).

Zong said the work was made up of two projects.

The major one draws water from the Yellow River and sends it to counties short of water, and another auxiliary scheme receives water and sends it on to local farmers.

Expensive operation costs for the entire project are causing headaches. Last year it got 920,000 yuan (US$110,800) from water supplies, but paid out 1.03 million yuan (US$124,000) for power supplies. In total, the project has lost 3.05 million yuan (US$367,400) in the last five years, said Ren Zizhong, director of the project management office.

Local farmers are also suffering from the high cost of water. Liu Fengping, a farmer living in Huanxian County in Gansu Province, has already spent 400 yuan (US$48) on water this year, but his family's net income was only 6,000 yuan (US$723) in 2004.

"A lack of money, high operation costs and a backward mindset are the major cause of this problem," said economist Zhang Baotong.

(China Daily June 9, 2005)