The Chinese government has decided to allocate 1.7 trillion yuan ($246 billion) to 25 major projects to improve water infrastructure, after the southwestern part of the country was heavily hit by a prolonged heat wave and drought in the summer of 2022.
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Central China’s Hubei province has already started the construction of 18 giant water projects that will cost 176 billion yuan ($25.5 billion) by 2025. Last month, southwest China’s Yunnan province began work on four major water storage projects with a total investment of 211 billion yuan ($30.5 billion).
There is concern about agricultural production
While China’s per capita water reserves are only a quarter of the world average, officials are also concerned about the impact of low rainfall on the upcoming autumn harvest. Some experts are of the opinion that drought could affect up to 20% of agricultural production in the country.
China is also running an ambitious South-North Water Transfer Project with channels in eastern and central China to channel the waters of the Yangtze River to the drier northern region.
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