Drinking water will be safe for rural residents in South China's Guangdong Province by the end of 2010 after the provincial government announced it will spend 11 billion yuan (US$1.36 billion) to clean it up.

According to the province's 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10), Guangdong's program will make safe drinking water available to 22.08 million people who at present are not adequately supplied with it.

The figure accounts for 40.88 percent of the total rural population there.

They are either suffering from the substandard quality of drinking water, an insufficient supply, inconvenience in getting access to the water or limited water resources.

In his report to the deputies of the provincial people's congress earlier this week, Zhong Yangsheng, vice governor of the province, said that Guangdong plans to work on 23 water-related projects in the next five years and that the total capital input for the water-related projects will be 38 billion yuan (US$4.69 billion).

He said that the province will pool investments of 1.1 trillion yuan (US$135.64 billion) for 223 massive projects during the period.

He said that an investment of 383 billion yuan (US$47.23 billion) will go to 63 traffic-related projects, aiming to increase expressways by 2,000 kilometers, express railways by more than 1,100 kilometers, other inter-city track transportation network by 270 kilometers; and metro service by 262 kilometers.

And the province will pour about 245 billion yuan (US$30.21 billion) for 23 massive energy-related projects during the five-year period.

Nuclear power projects, including the second phase of the Ling'ao Nuclear Power Plant and the first phase of Yangjiang Nuclear Power Plant, will be among the key ones.

The province aims to add 24,280 kilometers to the power grid and increase the power transformation capacity by 113.6 million kilovolt-amperes and the annual LNG (liquefied natural gas) supply capacity by 8 million tons.

Twenty-three other projects related to public platforms for high-tech research and development will also be set up during the period, and the total capital input will reach 38 billion yuan (US$4.69 billion).

Other gigantic projects under the province's plan include 14 modern heavy and chemical industries, which will entail a capital input of about 263 billion yuan (US$32.43 billion) in the five years; 19 tertiary industrial projects, involving a capital input of about 24 billion yuan (US$2.96 billion); 10 rural projects, involving about 29 billion yuan (US$3.58 billion); 18 environmental protection projects, involving 47 billion yuan (US$5.8 billion); 21 cultural projects, involving about 71 billion yuan (US$8.75 billion); and 19 safety protection projects, involving about 10 billion yuan (US$1.23 billion).

(China Daily December 2, 2005)