China's $71 billion artificial river project

China's artificial river project offers new hope for drought problems in developing countries.

Last year, the weather around the world experienced many unpredictable fluctuations, causing serious consequences. This was a year when an unprecedented number of temperature records were broken, extreme weather events occurred more frequently, and climate change became more evident.

A sheep died on the road due to hunger and thirst due to prolonged drought in the Ong Kinh irrigation lake area, Nhon Hai commune, Ninh Thuan province. (Photo: Huu Khoa).

As the global climate changes in unpredictable ways, a bold solution being implemented by China could be a lesson for countries that are regularly hit by prolonged drought, like Vietnam.

The solution, called the South-North Water Diversion Project (SNWTP), is considered a mega-project, aiming to divert 44.8 billion cubic meters of fresh water from southern China to northern provinces each year. This amount of water is twice the flow of the Colorado River in the US.

The southern regions of the country are relatively fertile and have sufficient water for farming, while the northern provinces often suffer from prolonged droughts. This problem is even more serious because up to one-third of China's population is concentrated in the arid northern basins.

China's South-North Water Diversion Project Changes the Lives of More Than 185 Million People (Photo: CGTN).

The project is said to be inspired by Mao Zedong's quote, when he once said: "The South has plenty of water, but the North lacks it. So if possible, why not borrow some?".

As described, water is transported on an artificial river with flow almost entirely downstream through a network of artificial rivers and canals.

The network consists of three main branches, named the West Branch, the Middle Branch, and the East Branch. The main task of these three branches is to divert water from the upper, middle, and lower reaches of the Yangtze River to the north and northwest.

China put the eastern and middle branches into operation in 2013 and 2014, supplying fresh water to some northern plains.

An estimated 185 million people living in dozens of cities along the two tributaries of the river have benefited from the project's flow. Even Beijing, a city of more than 22 million people, receives a significant amount of water through the SNWTP.

The West Branch of the artificial river is targeted to be operational by the end of 2024. However, the project's progress is facing concerns that it will affect millions of people in other countries, such as India.

The cost of the project is also a barrier. According to Iflscience, the project has cost the Chinese government at least $71 billion, and will increase in the coming years, mainly due to maintenance and expansion costs. In 2014, the SNWTP and other water transfer projects accounted for about 1% of China's GDP, or $150 billion.