China to Complete Reinforcement of Small Reservoirs by 2015

   Date:2012-02-14

China aims to complete the reinforcement of all its small-sized reservoirs by the end of 2015, according to the Ministry of Finance.

Reservoirs with a storage capacity between 100,000 cubic meters and 10 million cubic meters are categorized as "small" reservoirs in China.

The ministry said the reinforcement of reservoirs with a storage capacity between 1 and 10 million cubic meters will be finished by the end of 2012.

The rest of the small reservoirs included in the plan will all be reinforced by the end of 2013, the ministry said.

Since 2006, the central budget has allocated 59 billion yuan (9.37 billion U.S. dollars) in special funds to support the reinforcement of small reservoirs, the ministry said.

During the period, local governments also raised over 30 billion yuan to help cover costs, the ministry said.

The ministry's budget for the special fund increased to 16.8 billion yuan in 2011, compared with 3.2 billion yuan in 2007 when the fund was first set up, it said.

China has made great efforts to improve its underdeveloped water conservation system, as floods and droughts in recent years have exposed weaknesses in water conservancy infrastructure.

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