Over 4 million more rural people in northeast China's
Heilongjiang Province will have access to safe drinking water
in the next five years, the provincial department of water
resources promised on Monday.
The province aims to increase the coverage of tap water to 60
percent in rural areas and provide safe drinking water for 40
percent of its rural population, said Wang Tie, vice director of
the department.
Tap water coverage in rural areas has reached 28 percent thanks
to the province's efforts in the past five years.
"During the next five years, local governments in the province
will evaluate quantity, quality and reliability of water resources
and guarantee safe drinking water," Wang said.
At present, more than 300 million people in rural areas across
China still have no access to safe drinking water.
China has spent 20 billion yuan (US$2.4 billion) over the last
five years in various efforts to provide clean drinking water to
some 60 million rural people.
(Xinhua News Agency February 7, 2006)