Construction of the largest irrigation project in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, one of the most arid area in China, commenced recently.

The project will cost a total investment of 2.8 billion yuan (US$339 million). It will benefit over 100 state farms of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps scattered in various parts of the northwest China region.

Under the project, water-saving facilities will be built on 266, 666 ha of land. Upon completion of the project, 900 million cubic meters of water will be saved annually and the farmland under irrigation in Xinjiang will be expanded by 100,000 ha. Drip and spray irrigation networks will be installed on 33,300 ha of land this year.

"The project is of great importance to developing agriculture on arid and semi-arid areas in Xinjiang. It will help solve the problem of water shortage and stimulate production of machine tools, building materials and chemical products," said a regional government official.

The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps has experimented with a high-tech irrigation scheme since early 1980s. It has built water-saving farming zones covering total area of 62,666 ha of land.