Water conservation projects built last winter and this spring have made clean drinking water available to a further 22 million rural residents, said a senior water resources official on Tuesday.

Nine hundred and nine new reservoirs have been built, 140,000 wells dug and 18,000 water supply projects completed in rural areas, at a cost of 61 billion yuan (about US$7.6 billion), said Zhai Haohui, vice minister of Water Resources, at a national meeting on rural water conservation.

The improved facilities played an important role in combating floods and drought that stung east and southwest China this year, he said.

In southwest China's Chongqing city, which was hit by the worst drought in a century this summer, water conservation work ensured drinking water for more than 10 million people and a harvest on 670,000 hectares of cropland, according to Zhai.

China will earmark another eight billion yuan (about US$1billion) to build and rebuild key projects for rural drinking water and irrigation facilities, Zhai said.

China aims to provide safe drinking water to 160 million rural residents over the next five years.

(Xinhua News Agency October 11, 2006)