China started digging Friday an ambitious water diversion project that will see vast amounts transported from the fertile south of the country to the arid north, state media reported.
Work started on a tunnel underneath the Yellow River in the eastern province of Shandong as part of a planned 486 billion yuan (US$66 billion, €45 billion) network of canals aimed to divert water from the southern Yangtze River, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
Building the South-North Water Diversion project, which was approved in 2002, could take 60 years, the government has said.
The Yellow River tunnel will be completed in three years, Xinhua said.
China, especially the northern part, is undergoing a serious water shortage, with 130 cities facing extreme shortages. Intense demand by booming Chinese industries, farms and sprawling cities has left many areas without adequate water supplies.
China supports 21 percent of the world's population with just 7 percent of its fresh water supplies.
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