Fujian starts supplying water to Kinmen

A launching ceremony that marks official start of a water-supply project to Kinmen is held in Jinjiang Fujian on August 5, 2018.[Photo:gov.cn]

A pipeline project providing water from Fujian province to Kinmen, an island off the east coast, is officially in operation.

The water pipeline is expected to ease a long-time lack of drinking water.

Liu Jieyi, head of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, says the water-supply project is a great event in the history of Kinmen's development as well as for cross-Strait relations.

"The completion of the water pipeline project providing water to Kinmen from Fujian fully shows how we contribute to the well-being of our compatriots in Taiwan. People on two sides of the Taiwan Strait are as close to each other as family members and we sincerely care about our Taiwan compatriots, work hard to benefit our Taiwan compatriots, and make full efforts to solve practical problems for our Taiwan compatriots."

The source of the water-diversion project is Longhu Lake in Jinjiang City, the second largest lake in Fujian.

The 28 km pipeline will provide 34,000 cubic meters of water daily to Kinmen, a small island attached to Taiwan but close to the mainland.

The investment totals nearly 400 million yuan or about 57 million U.S. dollars.

Nearly 3,000 Kinmen residents came to pose for photos at the reservoir where the water from Fujian is stored, to celebrate the historic moment.

Cai Rongxing --- village committee director in Jinjiang.

"Fujian and Taiwan are family. And now residents on both sides are drinking from the same source. We are very pleased to provide them with fresh water. It's just like helping a relative. "

Kinmen is short of fresh water, with the annual per-capita water availability no more than 1,000 cubic meters, far less than the world's water stress state of 1,700 cubic meters.

Kinmen's economic growth has suffered due to the long-term water shortage.

Only about 60 thousand of the 130 thousand registered population are permanent residents.

Kinmen authorities put forward a proposal to divert water from Fujian in 1995.

Officials from both the Chinese mainland and Taiwan signed the agreement to solve Kinmen's water problem 20 years later.

Yang Ying-hsiung, a representative from Kinmen, says the project concerns the welfare of local residents.

"It is something people in Kinmen have been looking forward to seeing so much, after more than 20 years of effort. And I think it will be beneficial to the interaction between both sides of the strait. Such projects are just what we need. As the water pipeline project enters operation, we also expect to receive aid on further development on power and gas projects here in Kinmen."

Some local businessmen suggested the water supplying project not only brings fresh water to tens of thousands of households in Kinmen, but also injects fresh impetus into economic growth.