Water project set to flow

The first phase of the eastern route of China's South-to-North water diversion project will be tested on May 30.

The water will be supplied from Jiangdu, Jiangsu province, into Shandong province along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

The first phase of the eastern route includes purifying, as water pollution remains a concern in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

The total investment is 18.3 billion yuan ($2.98 billion) and the purifying accounts for 5.9 billion yuan.

A spokesman of the Office of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project Commission of the State Council said 26 sewage treatment plants as well as 102 water purification projects were built.

The project will take water from the Yangtze River, through eastern, central and western routes to feed dry areas in the north, including Beijing.