The long-waited Changsha Water Diversion and Quality Environmental Engineering Project was kicked off at the end of October, making it possible for local people to have purified water from the Zhushuqiao Reservoir by 2008.

It has attracted the largest amount of foreign investment in the history of the municipal infrastructure engineering project of Changsha, capital of Hunan Province in Central China.

With a total investment of 3.737 billion yuan (US0.78 million), the project includes two parts for water diversion and water quality improvement. It will be completed in four years.

Residents in Changsha have historically considered the Xiangjiang River, a branch of the Yangtze River, as their source of life-giving water. However, for many years now, the water quality of the Changsha section of the Xiangjiang has been affected by polluted water coming from the upper reaches.

In addition, the dry season of the river has been longer than usual in recent years. The water quality in Changsha is third from the bottom, compared with other 13 cities in Hunan Province.

Although water supply is adequate, the availability of a single source for drinking water and its deteriorating quality has become a serious concern.

It will also restrict the sustainable development of the city.

The water diversion project will soon have the capacity to transfer 950,000 cubic metres of water daily. The current capacity is at 650,000 cubic metres.

Water from the Zhushuqiao Reservoir will first be diverted to the Xingsha Water Purification Plant. The water will flow through 76 kilometres, 40.2 kilometres of which will be tunnels.

A new water purification plant with a daily capacity of 300,000 cubic metres will be built at the Xingsha-Liaojiacitang area.

A new 22-kilometre-long pipeline, with a daily transferring capacity of 300,000 cubic metres of water, will be laid from the plant to Changsha No 5 Water Plant.

This will enable the water plant to use the water as a new resource instead of water from the Xiangjiang River.

At the same time, Changsha will build and renovate 553 kilometres of water dispatching network.

The city will soon add a daily sewage treatment capacity of 260,000 cubic metres.

According to the plan, it will build the Kaipu Sewage Treatment Plant with a daily capacity of 100,000 cubic metres, Huaqiao Sewage Treatment Plant with a capacity of 160,000 cubic metres and construct 116 kilometres of sewage pipeline and six sewage pumping stations.

The project was approved by the former National Planning Commission in 2001.

It was listed as a key project during the 10th Five-Year Plan (2001-05) of Hunan Province and Changsha as well.

To date, Changsha has signed an agreement for a loan of 1.5 billion yuan (US4.96 million) and received a 1 billion yuan (US3.33 million) loan from the China Development Bank.

Meanwhile, the survey work for the water diversion project has been completed and submitted to the provincial construction department for approval.

The primary design of the water quality improvement project has gained approval from the provincial construction department.

Projects of Huaqiao Sewage Treatment Plant, covering an area of 26 hectares, and Xingsha Water Purification Plant, covering an area of 12.9 hectares, have also gained approval from the provincial people's government.