Han Ximin

1824295095@qq.com

THE Pearl River Delta water resources allocation project, said to be the largest water diversion project in Guangdong in terms of investment, was officially put into operation yesterday.

At 11:22 a.m., after the announcement of the operation of the project by Huang Kunming, Guangdong Party chief, the water from the Xijiang River in Liyuzhou in Shunde flowed swiftly through the underground canal to the Gaoxinsha Reservoir in Nansha, Guangzhou.

At the same time, the water gates of the Luotian Reservoir and Gongming Reservoir in Shenzhen were lifted to receive the water.

The 113.2-kilometer-long water project, in which construction took about 4 years and eight months, will benefit 32 million people along its network in the Pearl River Delta by providing 1.7 billion cubic meters of water a year, and help solve water shortages in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Dongguan. It is also a backup water source for Hong Kong.

The project, worth 35.4 billion yuan (US$5.2 billion), started in May 2019 and has an 11.9-kilometer section built in Shenzhen. It is an important project since the State Council unveiled the development plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in February 2019.

The project is also a great engineering feat, with pipes laid 40 to 60 meters under the ground, including 2.4 kilometers under the Pearl River’s estuary.

The Xijiang River is one of the three major tributaries of the Pearl River and a major water source in Guangdong, accounting for 18% of the province’s water resources and supplying 28% of its population.