OREANDA-NEWS. April 11, 2012. The provincial government of Anhui released a development and reform program on Tuesday, setting out water conservancy priorities for the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) period.

According to the program, a batch of water diversion projects will be launched during that period, including channeling water from the Yangtze River to the Huaihe River and Chaohu River to meet the needs of local people. Meanwhile, mine subsidence areas in cities of Huaibei, Huainan and Suzhou will build facilities to improve water supply.

The government will beef up flood control and disaster relief in flood-prone cities such as Hefei, Anqing, Wuhu, Bengbu and Huainan, the program said.

Top priority will continue to be given to flood prevention of the Huaihe River, the third longest water way in China cutting through Anhui province, from 2011 to 2015.

According to the program, flood diversion projects will be built in Bengbu-Fushan and Zhengyangguan Pass- Xiashankou sections of the river while foreign funds will be injected into irrigation and water conservancy projects in low-lying lands along the river. Also, up to 180,000 residents will be relocated from flood diversion areas by the end of 2015.