This figure benefits nearly 118 million people in 27 cities, Xinhua News Agency quoted information from the project operator - China North-South Water Shipping Corporation.
The South-North Water Transfer Project is the world's largest water transfer project, bringing water resources from resource-rich areas in southern China to northern China over a very long distance.
Previously, hundreds of millions of people in the north faced "absolute water drought" according to UN standards.
After nearly 12 years of operation, the middle line of the project has contributed to rebalancing water resources, ensuring domestic water sources, restoring aquatic ecosystems and strengthening national water security, according to China North-South Water Shipping Group.
The impact of the project is particularly clear in Beijing, where water sources transferred from the project currently account for nearly 80% of the total urban water supply of the capital. In Hebei province, the population in water-receiving areas accounts for about 70% of the province's total population.
The operating unit said that the middle line of the project always maintains surface water quality at level II or higher, reversing the prolonged decline in groundwater levels, and at the same time continuing to improve the river and lake ecosystem in northern China.
The project also plays an important role in providing water for drought prevention, agricultural irrigation and ensuring food security, while creating more room for urban development and optimizing industrial planning.
The South-North Water Transfer Project is designed to include 3 routes, connecting 4 major river basins of China: Zhangjiang, Huaihe, Huanghe and Haihe.
In which, the eastern route takes advantage of the ancient canal system, starting from Yangzhou city in Jiangsu province, using 13 pumping stations to bring water to receiving areas.
Meanwhile, the middle line transports water thanks to natural flow from the Dan Giang Khau reservoir, mainly located in Hubei province, to localities such as Henan, Hebei, Beijing and Tianjin.
