A Tibetan woman fetches water from a drinking water center in Nagqu county, Tibet, Nov 9, 2011. [Photo/Xinhua]

LHASA - Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region plans to invest a total of 380 million yuan (59.9 million U.S. dollars) to boost its farmland irrigation and water conservation infrastructure in the coming winter and spring, local authorities said Saturday.

The total investment, an increase of 15 percent over the previous year, will be earmarked for projects including renovating facilities damaged by floods, building rural flood-control and drought-resistant facilities, and setting up farmland water conservation systems, according to Tibet's Water Resources Department.

In all, 1,023 flood-damaged facilities in the region are expected to be rebuilt and a 301-km-long water canal will be dredged. The work will mean 220,000 more people will have access to tap water.

The region's water storage capacity will also increase by 340,000 cubic meters, with 20 square km of soil-erosion areas brought under control.