Guangdong Province in south China will invest 53.9 billion yuan (US$6.5 billion) in water conservation projects in the next five to eight years in a bid to improve its anti-disaster capacity, a senior official said Tuesday.

The projects mainly concern embankments along rivers and the sea, flood control facilities in cities and reservoir reinforcement, said Zhou Rifang, director of the provincial bureau of water resources.

Guangdong has been frequently hit by floods for years. This year alone, storms caused by typhoons such as Imbudo, Krovanh and Dujuan have caused record high deaths and injuries of people as well as great economic loss to the province, according to Zhou.

In addition, most of the province's water conservation projects are in great need of renovation, so it is very necessary to enhance the investment in this field, said Zhou.

(Xinhua News Agency October 28, 2003)