The government has not yet come to a final decision on building a water transfer system in order to divert seawater from Bohai Sea to the drought-stricken Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Beijing Times reported Wednesday, citing the State Forestry Administration's Deputy Director Zhu Lieke.

The water-transfer project is a widely discussed topic, but no official decisions have been made, Zhu said at the news conference. The proposal was raised by experts at a summit forum held in Urumqi in early November, Xinjiang Daily reported Nov 8. According to the proposal, the system will transfer water from the coast of Bohai Sea to the southeastern part of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, and then enter into Xinjiang, it reported.

(chinadaily.com.cn January 5, 2011)