Guangzhou, capital of economically booming Guangdong Province in south China, will invest 15.3 billion yuan (about US$2 billion) in water facilities in the 2006-2010 period, according to a local water resources official.

 

The money will be mainly used to improve water supply structure and water quality, said Ouyang Ming, deputy director of the city's water resources bureau quoted by Shanghai-based China Business News.

 

Part of the investment will be channeled into irrigation and flood control projects in the city, which is frequently ravaged by storms, added Ouyang.

 

Guangzhou will get 2.3 billion cubic meters of water per year from Beijiang River, north of the city, when a major dam project on the river is completed at the end of the year, according to the newspaper.

 

The city has spent heavily to curb pollution and make scientific use of its water resources. It has spent 8 billion yuan (about US$1 billion) in building sewage treatment centers over the past three years. Meanwhile, 2.5 billion yuan (US$31.25 million) was poured in to prevent water pollution.

 

In order to reduce pollution from industrial waste water, the city has closed or moved 147 enterprises near the Pearl River, one of its major water sources, since the late 1990s.

 

(Xinhua News Agency November 15, 2006)