Guangdong authorities will spend 11 billion yuan (US$1.36 billion) cleaning up its rivers and lakes and building pipeline networks in the next five years in a bid to provide safe drinking water for rural residents.

The province has made clean water for 22.08 million rural people a priority in its 11th five-year program (2006-2010).

About 40 percent of the total rural population in the province either suffers from the substandard quality of drinking water, an insufficient water supply, inconvenience in getting access to the water or limited water resources.

In his report at a provincial people's congress session last 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 the budget set for the projects will be 38 billion yuan.

He said that the province would pool investments of 1.1 trillion yuan for 223 large projects during the period.

Some 383 billion yuan will be spent 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.

The province will also spend about 245 billion yuan on 23 large energy projects during the five-year period.

Other major projects in the plan include 14 modern heavy and chemical industry projects, 19 tertiary industrial projects, 18 environmental protection projects, 21 cultural projects and 19 safety protection projects.

Editor: Donald