China's Largest Water Diversion Project under Construction Makes Key Progress

Digging of the Lion Mountain Tunnel in Southwest China's Yunnan Province was recently extended by more than 10 kilometers, a key step in China's largest water diversion project under construction.

Contracted by China Railway 18th Bureau Group Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China Railway Construction Corporation Limited, the 29.42-kilometer tunnel is being built through eight geological fault zones as well as seismic hazard zones and gas areas, which brings difficulties to construction.

With a total investment of more than 78 billion yuan ($12.03 billion), the water diversion project ranks at the top of the 172 water projects approved by the State Council.

The project is intended to create a 664.24-kilometer water channel diverting water from the trunk streams of the Jinsha River to the drought areas in central Yunnan. Nearly 612 kilometers of the project are diversion tunnels, the longest system of its kind in the world.

Central Yunnan is an extremely drought-stricken area in China with per capita water resources of around 700 cubic meters.

The large-scale trans-regional water diversion project, which is scheduled to be completed by 2026, will benefit more than 11 million people in 35 counties in Yunnan.

A view of the Lion Mountain Tunnel in Yunnan Province [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

Engineering of the Lion Mountain Tunnel in Yunnan [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

A technician inspects the Lion Mountain Tunnel in Yunnan. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

(Executive editor: Wang Ruoting)