China began to build a tunnel in Beijing to supply the capital city with water from the southern areas of the country.
The length of the tunnel is 44.7 km and the project will cost 9.17 billion yuan.
Water shortage in China has arisen due to the sharp growth of industry. As the factories consume large amount of water for their needs, condition of rivers and lakes are getting worse, which may lead to environmental disasters, warned environmentalists.
The daily water shortage in China is 20 million cubic meters and the annual water shortage in factories is 12 million cubic meters. The total loss caused by water shortage has reached 200 billion yuan in China.