The Phase III project of the Shenzhen River, a five-year-long joint effort by Shenzhen and Hong Kong to clean up and widen the river bordering the two cities, was completed yesterday, the Shenzhen municipal river cleanup office announced.

A ceremony was held in Hong Kong to commemorate the joint effort between the two cities in the past 12 years.

Shenzhen Vice Mayor Lu Ruifeng and Sarah Liao, Hong Kong's secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, attended the project completion ceremony. Officials said the third phase was the most difficult, affecting several cross-boundary facilities.

Running through Shenzhen's Futian, Luohu and Nanshan districts and New Territories in Hong Kong, the heavily polluted river has been a headache for both Shenzhen and Hong Kong governments since early 1980s.

"The latest channel improvement has largely enhanced the river's ability in flood control and prevention," said a spokesperson for the Shenzhen municipal river cleanup office. "Its flood control capacity has been raised from 600 to 2,100 cubic meters per second, after the watercourse was widened from the original 25-80 meters to the current 80-210 meters."

With the completion of the 720-million-yuan (US$92.31 million) Phase III project, the river can withstand extreme flooding which happens once in every 50 years.

The third phase also included the reconstruction of the old Luohu pedestrian bridge and the Wenjindu two-way vehicular bridge.

Following the Phase III project, the two sides will again join hands to focus on the estuary and riverbed cleanup. The watercourse connecting the Shenzhen and Xinzhou rivers is expected to be improved with a 77-million-yuan project that is scheduled to start in May.

However, the planned Phase IV project, which will help connect the Shenzhen and Dapeng bays, is still undergoing assessment.

Editor: Yan