STORY: Construction of follow-up project for China's mega water diversion in full swing
SHOOTING TIME: Jan. 8-9, 2024
DATELINE: Jan. 9, 2024
LENGTH: 00:00:59
LOCATION: BAOKANG, China
CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENT

SHOTLIST:
1. STANDUP (English): ZHANG MOCHENG, Xinhua correspondent
2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese): LI ZHANJING, China South-to-North Water Diversion Jianghan Water Network Construction and Development Co., Ltd.
3. various of the construction site
4. various of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project

STORYLINE:

STANDUP (English): ZHANG MOCHENG, Xinhua correspondent
"I am now in a gigantic tunnel in Baokang, central China's Hubei Province. A follow-up project for China's South-to-North Water Diversion Project has entered its full-scale construction phase. The new project aims to channel water from the Three Gorges Reservoir area to the Hanjiang River, a tributary of the Yangtze River. This is a new move to further transfer water to the country's dry north and improve its national water network."

Construction of the follow-up project started in July 2022, and is scheduled to be completed in nine years.

The project's designed total length is 194.7 kilometers and the tunnel covers 193.9 kilometers.

SOUNDBITE (Chinese): LI ZHANJING, China South-to-North Water Diversion Jianghan Water Network Construction and Development Co., Ltd.
"About 10 days ago, the project was entered into a comprehensive construction phase. By the end of 2023, more than 1,000 meters of the main tunnel at the exit section had been constructed."

Once completed, the project is expected to increase the amount of water diverted to north China.

China's South-to-North Water Diversion Project has transferred over 67 billion cubic meters of water to the country's arid northern areas over the past nine years.

More than 176 million people have directly benefited from this mega water diversion project, which is the largest in the world.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Baokang, China.
(XHTV)