Investment in water projects bears fruit

A record 1.35 trillion yuan ($185 billion) worth of investment was made for building water resources management facilities across the country last year, marking the third straight year of investment exceeding 1 trillion yuan being made for the purpose, official data showed.

Thanks to the investment, 47,000 projects were implemented through the year, Chen Min, vice-minister of water resources, said at a news conference organized by the State Council Information Office on Tuesday.

"The investment has played an effective role in stabilizing economic growth and promoting employment," he said, adding that it has resulted in the employment of over 3.15 million people.

Investment for constructing water resources management projects across the country stood at almost 1.1 trillion yuan and 1.2 trillion yuan in 2022 and 2023, respectively, according to previous figures from the Ministry of Water Resources.

Zhang Xiangwei, head of the ministry's department of planning and programming, said flood control facilities in major river basins and hydrological monitoring infrastructure were among investment priorities for water resources management in 2024.

Key focus areas for enhancing hydrological monitoring infrastructure include the construction of additional rain gauge stations, and the promotion of new technologies such as satellite remote sensing and radar monitoring, he said.

Zhang particularly highlighted the satellite launched by the ministry on Dec 12, saying that it represented a significant transition in the ministry's monitoring approach from traditional fixed-point monitoring to an integrated space-air-ground-water monitoring system.

The official said that thanks to the additional government bonds issued by the central government in 2023, more than 7,800 projects for water resources management were launched in 2024.

The 1 trillion yuan bonds were directed to support the rebuilding of disaster-hit areas and raise the country's disaster relief capabilities after devastating floods hit the Haihe River Basin and the Songhua River Basin. Half of the bonds were carried over to 2024.

Upon completion, he said these projects supported by the bonds will result in the construction and reinforcement of 10,000 kilometers of dikes, the improvement of 28,000 km of river channels, and an increase in reservoir capacity by more than 23 billion cubic meters.

"These efforts will greatly strengthen water security across multiple river basins and regions," he said.

houliqiang@chinadaily.com.cn