Briefly

BEIJING

83 percent of rural areas have tap water

China resolved the drinking-water safety problems of its impoverished population during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) period, with tap-water coverage in rural areas reaching 83 percent, the Ministry of Water Resources said on Thursday. A total of 118 poverty-alleviation projects relating to water and power supplies were established in rural areas over the same period, it said. Water-conservation tasks in irrigated areas highlighted in the five-year plan were basically completed, the ministry said.

Firefighting test for amphibious aircraft

China's domestically developed AG600 large amphibious aircraft has entered a new flight test phase targeting its firefighting capacities, its developer said on Thursday. An AG600 completed the first flight test of its aerial water-dropping functions in Jingmen, Hubei province, on Thursday, Aviation Industry Corporation of China said. It marked a major step forward for the development of the aircraft, which will help the country strengthen its natural disaster prevention and emergency rescue capabilities. The aircraft performed well during the test and is expected to conduct flight tests dropping water on fires later this year, AVIC said.

HEBEI

Last five COVID-19 cases leave hospital

Hebei province, hit by a recent COVID-19 resurgence, saw its last five confirmed cases discharged from hospitals on Wednesday. As all patients had recovered, the province now has zero registered COVID-19 patients or asymptomatic infections, the provincial health commission said. Hebei reported a total of 942 confirmed COVID-19 cases since Jan 2, but the outbreak subsided last month amid sweeping antivirus measures.

SHANGHAI

Shanghai Pudong Intl Airport wins accolade

Shanghai Pudong International Airport was on Monday awarded the title of Best Airport by Size&Region in Asia-Pacific in 2020 by the Airports Council International. The airport won the category for airports with an annual passenger throughput of over 40 million, beating Beijing Capital International Airport, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, India, and Singapore Changi Airport. It was also ranked first among 348 airports in terms of passenger satisfaction, according to the Airport Service Quality metric.

Xinhua - China Daily