Test section for river pipeline completed in S China

Shenzhen annually consumes about 1.8 billion cubic meters of water while Dongguan consumes another 1.8 billion cubic meters a year, Li said.

The Dongjiang River which has an annual water flow of about 23.5 billion cubic meters, now offers drinking water to Dongguan, Shenzhen and neighboring Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

"But 38.3 percent of the Dongjiang's water resources are being used annually, reaching the 40 percent red line widely recognized over the world," said Li.

He added that the ecology and environment along the Dongjiang River will be damaged and destroyed and the seawater might flow backward if more than 40 percent of the water has been pumped or used.

But now only 1.3 percent of the rich Xijiang River water resources has been used, while the Xijiang has an annual water flow of more than 220 billion cubic meters, according to Li.

Yan Zhenrui, who is charge of the design of the project, said most of the water pipeline will be built from 40 to 60 meters under the ground to protect the ecology and environment and reduce land acquisition.

"Construction of the project includes building a 7-kilometer-long water pipeline under the Shiziyang waters at the mouth of the Pearl River, and that is the most difficult point of the entire project," Yan said.

The project also includes construction of three water pump stations, he added.