China To Begin Work On Mammoth Mega-Tunnel To Supply Northern Areas With Water

China has initiated workplace on building the world ’s large water epithelial duct , which will transmit a gigantic amount of water from the Three Gorges Dam all the way to Beijing as part of the nation ’s South - to - North Water Diversion Project .

The Yinjiangbuhan tunnel will connect the Three Gorges Dam and the Han River , before connecting to unfold canal heading north to Beijing . In totality , the undertaking will span 1,400 kilometers ( 870 miles ) and be an heart - water $ 8.9 billion ( £ 7.4 billion ) , but it will leave a constant urine supplying from the over - supplied eastern and southerly China to areas of drier conditions in the Frederick North .

The announcement was report by theSouth China Morning Post , which claims the massive tunneling project will provide a Brobdingnagian boost to nutrient production in desiccated areas .

Much of the tunnel will trip deep underground , reaching depths of 1,000 meters ( 3,300 feet ) below the surface . Such an undertaking will in all likelihood use the up-to-the-minute tunneling equipment , as vivid pressures 1 kilometer ( 0.6 mi ) below the open will make for dull advance – even with such equipment , the project is still expected to take around a decade .

TheSouth - to - North Water Diversion Projectis the largest weewee diversion projection ever undertake . It was originally thought up around 50 years ago and work on it has only recently begun . The Yinjiangbuhan tunnel is just a humble piece of the overarching puzzle that will make up the challenging $ 62 billion project . Once complete ( likely around 2050 ) , all four of China ’s major river – the Yangtze , Yellow River , Huaihe , and Haihe – will be link up and it will amuse almost 45 billion cubic meters of water north each twelvemonth .

With the twist of the Yinjiangbuhan tunnel , food yield could be boosted by as much as 540 million tonnes each yr , as much as the whole of the US currently create , reportsInteresting Engineering . The resulting impacts should better conditions in the northern and eastern parts of China , bring improvements to hoi polloi ’s quality of life and the thriftiness .