The total investment in water conservancy during the 14th Five Year Plan period is 5.6 trillion yuan, which is 1.6 times that of the 13th Five Year Plan period and 1.43 times that of railway infrastructure investment. It is expected to invest an additional 7 trillion yuan during the 15th Five Year Plan period, with a focus on five major areas: water and drought disaster prevention, modern water networks, river and lake ecological restoration, digital twin water conservancy, and water-saving industries.

"In the past few years, we have experienced extreme weather, such as the extreme drought in the Yangtze River basin and the rainstorm in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, and water conservancy projects have played a 'life-saving' role at a critical moment." The relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Water Resources said that water conservancy has gone from simply guaranteeing water supply to becoming the lifeblood of national security.

Why does water conservancy investment exceed railway infrastructure?

Data shows that the total investment in water conservancy in China during the 14th Five Year Plan period reached 5.6 trillion yuan, which is 1.6 times that of the 13th Five Year Plan period. Compared with railway infrastructure, the total investment in water conservancy during the 14th Five Year Plan period is 1.43 times that of railway infrastructure, with a total investment of 3976.4 billion yuan. Water conservancy not only has a total investment exceeding that of railways, but also has an annual investment higher than railways, becoming the largest business in infrastructure construction.

There are three reasons behind the sustained high level of water conservancy investment. First, extreme weather occurs frequently. The catastrophic drought in the Yangtze River basin in 2023, the rainstorm in Beijing Tianjin Hebei in 2024 and other events highlight the key role of water conservancy projects in disaster prevention and reduction. The second is the upgrading of national strategy, where water security has risen from ensuring supply to becoming the lifeline of national security, and water conservancy has become a strategic infrastructure for safeguarding national security. The third is an important carrier for expanding domestic demand. Water conservancy has multiple effects such as environmental improvement, transportation, ecological protection, and tourism landscape, and is an important lever for expanding domestic demand in the current and future periods.

Fifteen five, seven trillion yuan invested in five key businesses

According to the 15th Five Year Plan and key projects, China's water conservancy investment is expected to reach 7 trillion yuan during the 15th Five Year Plan period, with a focus on five major business areas.

Key Business One: Flood and Drought Disaster Prevention. Including river and lake embankment management, construction of flood storage and detention areas, reinforcement of reservoirs, reservoir construction, and construction of three lines of defense. After the rainstorm in Zhengzhou in 2024, the 300km embankment in Henan has been upgraded and the flood control standard has been significantly improved.

Key Business 2: Modern Water Network. Including water diversion projects, modernization construction of irrigation areas, optimization of water resources allocation projects, urban and rural water supply projects, water source projects, etc. The second phase of the South to North Water Diversion East Line will cover 10 provinces and cities, benefiting 400 million people and greatly alleviating the problem of water scarcity in the north.

Key Business Three: Revitalizing the Ecological Environment of Rivers and Lakes. Continuously carry out the construction of happy rivers and lakes in the basin and the revitalization of mother rivers, and build a batch of high-quality happy rivers and lakes with smooth rivers, clear water, green banks, beautiful scenery, and harmonious people. After a ten-year fishing ban in the Yangtze River, the finless porpoise reappeared in the Wuhan section of the river, and the ecological conditions of rivers and lakes have significantly improved.

Key business four: Promote digital twin water conservancy. Deeply implement the innovation driven development strategy, vigorously develop new quality productivity in water conservancy, and improve the water conservancy science and technology innovation system. Including digital twin water conservancy and integrated monitoring and perception system for sky ground water conservancy. Zhejiang has established a digital water network, with flood warning 72 hours in advance, providing strong support for flood control dispatch.

Key business five: Promote the water-saving industry. Focusing on large and medium-sized irrigation areas and major grain producing regions in the country, we will promote agricultural water conservation and efficiency improvement. Adhere to water based production, optimize the water industry structure, and promote industrial water conservation and emission reduction. Adhere to the principle of using water to determine the city, restrict high water consuming industries, deepen the construction of water-saving cities and various water-saving carriers, and promote urban water-saving and loss reduction. After the water-saving renovation of the irrigation area in Ningxia, the average water consumption per mu decreased by 30%, and the water-saving benefits were significant.

From life-saving to living water, and then to smart water

Looking ahead to the future, China's water conservancy is undergoing a profound transformation from life-saving (flood control) to active water (ecology), and then to smart water (digital). Water conservancy has upgraded from traditional engineering to new quality productivity, and new technologies such as digital twin water conservancy and integrated monitoring and perception system of sky ground water conservancy are reshaping the mode of water conservancy governance.

The National Water Resources Work Conference has made it clear that during the 15th Five Year Plan period, decisive progress will be made in basically realizing the modernization of the water and drought disaster prevention system and capacity, accelerating the construction of a modern water network, comprehensively building the protection and governance system of the Anlan River, the Life River, and the Happiness River, constructing a digital twin water resources system, improving the water resources conservation and intensive utilization system, and strengthening the legal management system of the water resources system and mechanism. Keywords: macro news, infrastructure engineering information, water conservancy

Water conservancy investment has exceeded one trillion yuan for four consecutive years, and another 7 trillion yuan has been invested in the 15th Five Year Plan. This is not only a leap in investment scale, but also an upgrade in development concept. Water conservancy experts say that with the acceleration of water conservancy modernization, China's water security will be more strongly guaranteed, providing solid support for the basic realization of socialist modernization.Editor/Yang Meiling