IWHR and the China South-to-North Water Diversion Corporation, Ltd. signed a scientific and technological cooperation agreement on July 25, aiming to provide robust scientific support for China’s South-to-North Water Diversion Project.

The China South-to-North Water Diversion Corporation, a state-owned enterprise, is in charge of the renowned project that diverts 44.8 billion cubic meters of water annually from China’s southern to northern part for industrial and domestic use. The high-quality development of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project plays a strategic part in China’s construction of a national water grid , said Ms. Zhu Chengqing, Vice Minister of Water Resources of China, at the signing ceremony of the agreement.

China’s national water grid will be in shape by 2035. Connecting an array of major water projects, it will strengthen the country’s water resources allocation, urban and rural water supply, flood control, drainage, ecological protection, and the development of smart water technologies.

The two sides will work more closely together to develop a long-term mechanism for strategic cooperation and improve the management of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. Applied basic research on planning and demonstration of follow-up projects for South-to-North water diversion, construction of demonstration projects for a modern water grid, and development of a talent training base will be jointly carried out, according to the agreement.