South-North Water Diversion Project: Chinese super project costs tens of billions of dollars, 'artificial river' has 1-02 on Earth

This super project cost China tens of billions of dollars.

Through the northern region of China is a unique "artificial river" , 1,432 km long (central route), carrying clear, sweet water to the capital Beijing.

The water's journey begins in a remote mountainous region of central China at the Danjiangkou reservoir. The water flows north through canals and pipes, crossing the Yellow River and reaching Beijing's water treatment plants 15 days later.

Two-thirds of the capital city's tap water and one-third of its total supply now come from Danjiangkou.

In the winter and spring of 2018, the reservoir was the "lifeblood" of Beijing. Despite experiencing the longest drought on record to date, the city has had no interruption to its water supply. That's thanks to the country's South-North Water Diversion Project (SNWDP).

China's expensive super projects: From 1950s to 2050

The South-North Water Diversion Project (SNWDP) - An ambitious engineering project to transfer surplus water from the Yangtze River to the arid Yellow River basin in the North - is considered the largest water diversion project, most expensive and challenging ever done in the world.

The massive South-North water diversion project began taking shape in the 1950s, and when fully completed in 2050, it will transfer tens of billions of cubic meters of water annually to population centers in the North.

The project is expected to cost tens of billions of dollars , possibly even more than double that of the country's largest Three Gorges Dam in the world. This dam was built in 12 years (1994-2006) and cost 28.6 billion USD, CNN information.

Besides providing water for people and developing shipping, the SNWDP water diversion project is also used for agricultural irrigation and helps improve the ecological environment.

Water from the Yangtze River finally reached Beijing in December 2014 when the central line of the South-North Water Diversion Project was put into operation. (Photo: Thethirdpole).

Reuters commented in an article published in June 2023 that, as the drought emerged, China was planning ambitious new water infrastructure projects in the hope that moving more precious liquid prices across the country will mitigate the impact of climate change.

As evidence of this, Reuters said that at the end of May 2023, Chinese officials announced plans to build a national "water network" of new canals, reservoirs and storage facilities that they said that will increase irrigation and reduce the risk of floods and droughts.

Li Guoying, China's Minister of Water Resources, said the plan would "unclog the main arteries" of the river system by 2035, boosting the state's ability to distribute water supply evenly.

Analysts said total investment in fixed water assets exceeded 1.1 trillion yuan ($154 billion) in 2022, up 44% from 2021. Investment continued to increase by 15 .6% to 407 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2023. Officials say even more funding will be available.

Part of the new plan involves continuing the implementation of the South-North Water Diversion Project (SNWDP) - completing the construction of the Western route.

This aerial photo of the water channel of the South-North Water Diversion Project was taken on December 30, 2022 in eastern China. (Photo: Liu Junxi/Xinhua).

Northern China has long been a center of population, industry and agriculture. At its pace of development, the region's limited water resources will certainly continue to decrease.

Historically, this has led to over-exploitation of groundwater – often fueling urban and industrial development at the expense of agriculture – leading to severe water shortages in rural areas. Additionally, land subsidence and frequent sandstorms in the area have also been linked to overuse of groundwater.

Late Chairman Mao Zedong first proposed the idea of ​​a diversion project in 1952. On August 23, 2002 - 50 years later - after extensive research, planning and discussion, the Project The South-North water diversion was approved by the State Council and work began on the eastern route of the project in December of the same year. Construction of the central line also began a year later.

"Lifeblood" of the South-North Water Diversion Project

The South-North Water Diversion Project includes 3 main water transfer routes named: Central route, Eastern route and Western route.

As the most prominent of the three lines due to its role in bringing water to the capital Beijing, the first phase of the central line began supplying water to the region in December 2014.

The first phase of the Eastern line, serving Jiangsu and Shandong provinces, began operations in November 2013.

Xinhua News Agency quoted an announcement from China North-South Water Diversion Company Limited in May 2023 saying that the Eastern and central lines of the South-North Water Transfer Project have benefited more than 150 million people. . The project has transferred 62 billion cubic meters of water to the drought-prone North through the Eastern and Central routes.

This aerial photo taken on May 12, 2023 shows a pumping station of the South-North Water Diversion Project in Sihong County, East China's Jiangsu Province. (Photo: Fang Dongxu/Xinhua).

The Eastern and Central routes of the South-North Water Transfer Project have benefited more than 150 million people. (Photo: Fang Dongxu/Xinhua).

The western line is still in the planning stage and has not been built yet. According to the Yellow River Conservation Commission, the first survey of this route was conducted in 1952.

According to China's South-to-North Water Diversion Cooperation, the Western Line is an important part of the national water network and is also an important strategic measure to promote environmental protection and quality development. high in the Yellow River basin.

This is also a fundamental solution to solve the water shortage in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River, and has great significance for water security, economy, energy, food and ecology.

Eastern route

The Eastern route diverts from a major branch of the Yangtze River, near the city of Yangzhou, the water will flow along existing river channels to Shandong's Weishan Mountains, before crossing the Yellow River through a tunnel and flows to Tianjin.

The completed diversion process will be a little over 1,155 km long and includes the construction of 23 pumping stations with an installed capacity of 453.7 MW in the first phase alone to supplement the existing 7 stations, which will be renovate and upgrade.

Central line

Construction of the central line began in December 2003. This route has a total length of about 1,432 km.

The central route transfers water from the Danjiangkou reservoir on the Han River through new channels near the western edge of the Haihe Delta to flow through Henan and Hebei provinces to Beijing.

The central line helps supply water to 24 large cities and more than 200 districts; Bringing direct benefits to 85 million residents along the route, CGTN reported in July 2023.

Western route

Construction of the Western route – which involves construction on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau – at an altitude of between 3,000m and 5,000m above sea level – began in 2010. To complete the Western route , Chinese engineers must overcome major technical and climatic challenges.

Once completed in 2050, the project will send 4 billion cubic meters of water from three branches of the Yangtze River nearly 500 kilometers through the Bayankala Mountains and then into northwest China.

Like other major Chinese projects – such as the Three Gorges Dam – the South-North Water Diversion Project's diversion plan has raised many environmental concerns, mainly related to the loss of antiques, relocation people and destroy grassland.

Not to mention, industrialization plans along the project's routes pose a risk of causing serious pollution to diverted water sources.

To help combat this threat, the Chinese Government has earmarked more than $80 million for Jiangdu, Huai'an, Sutian and Xuzhou, in eastern Jiangsu province, to build treatment facilities – although Estimates suggest the actual cost is more than double this figure.

Overall, about 260 projects have been implemented to reduce pollution and help ensure that water in the North-South Water Diversion Project areas will meet minimum drinking standards.