South-to-North Water Diversion Project diverted over 8 billion cubic meters of water in 2023

The first stage of the eastern and middle routes of China's mega water diversion project completed 8.54 billion cubic meters of water diversion in 2023, surpassing the annual target.

The South-to-North Water Diversion Project, the largest of its kind in the world, has three routes. The middle route is the most prominent, starting at the Danjiangkou Reservoir in central China's Hubei Province and running across Henan and Hebei provinces before reaching Beijing and Tianjin. It began supplying water in December 2014.

The eastern route began supplying water in November 2013. It transfers water from east China's Jiangsu Province to areas including Tianjin and Shandong. The western route is at the planning stage and is yet to be built.

In 2023, the first stage of the middle route diverted 7.41 billion cubic meters of water, achieving 112 percent of the annual plan. The first stage of the eastern route supplied 850 million cubic meters to Shandong, and the north extension project supplied 277 million cubic meters to north of the Yellow River, accomplishing 100 percent and 102 percent of their respective annual plans, said Jiang Xuguang, chairman of the China South-to-North Water Diversion Corporation Limited, at the group's annual work conference on Friday.

In terms of water quality, the first stage of the eastern and middle routes maintained stable compliance throughout the year.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the comprehensive operation of the eastern and middle routes. Water diversion for 2024 has commenced, with the first stage of the eastern route for the first time incorporating increased water supply for Jiangsu and Anhui provinces into the annual water scheduling plan, according to Jiang.

Since comprehensive operation, the first stage of the eastern and middle routes has diverted over 68 billion cubic meters of water, benefiting 44 large and medium-sized cities along the routes and over 176 million people.