On the banks of the Yellow River and in the plain of eastern Henan, a major project related to national food security and modernization of water conservancy has officially begun.

On January 16, 2026, the mobilization meeting for the modernization renovation project of the Zhaokou Yellow River Irrigation Area was held in Yanling County, Xuchang City, Henan Province. This magnificent project, with a total investment of 6.499 billion yuan and listed as a national "dual" construction landmark project, marks the beginning of a new round of major water conservancy construction in Henan Province in the first year of the 15th Five Year Plan.

The "dual" landmark project of increasing 820 million kilograms of grain annually

The Zhaokou Yellow River Irrigation Area was founded in 1970 and is the core water conservancy lifeline of the Yudong Plain on the south bank of the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has a designed irrigation area of 5.87 million acres and is not only the largest irrigation area in Henan Province, but also the fourth largest Yellow River Irrigation Area in China. Its coverage is extensive, benefiting 14 counties (districts) in five cities including Zhengzhou, Kaifeng, Xuchang, Zhoukou, and Shangqiu. It has long played an irreplaceable role in ensuring regional agricultural production and food security.

This modernization project focuses on the western area of the irrigation district and is planned to be fully completed by July 2029. The engineering construction content is rich and systematic, mainly including the renovation or construction of 1353 kilometers of various levels of canals (ditches), and the construction or renovation of 2019 buildings such as water gates and irrigation stations. It is particularly crucial that the project will simultaneously promote the construction of cutting-edge "digital twin irrigation areas", aiming to create a modern irrigation area model with water-saving efficiency, intelligent scheduling, and excellent ecology by deploying intelligent sensing devices and building a smart management platform. The second phase project on the east side of the irrigation area has passed the completion acceptance by the end of 2025. The coordinated promotion of the east and west sides will achieve a leapfrog improvement in the overall efficiency of the irrigation area. After the completion of the project, it is expected to effectively improve and restore the irrigation area of 3.665 million mu. By increasing the irrigation guarantee rate and water use efficiency, the annual grain production capacity can be increased by about 410 million kilograms, providing key support for stabilizing the Central Plains grain warehouse.

Consolidating the Water Conservancy Foundation for National Food Security

The initiation of the project has profound practical necessity and strategic significance. The Yudong Plain is a national level core area for grain production, but at the same time, it is also a region severely lacking in water resources. The existing irrigation district projects have been in operation for over half a century, and the problem of aging facilities is prominent, which restricts the efficiency of water resource utilization and irrigation guarantee capacity. The implementation of modernization transformation is aimed at systematically breaking through this bottleneck and consolidating the water conservancy foundation for stable and increased grain production. This project has been clearly listed as a national "dual" construction landmark project, highlighting its special and important position in ensuring the overall water and food security of the country. Keywords: engineering construction, engineering construction news

From a broader perspective, the modernization of Zhaokou Irrigation District is not only an upgrade of a single project, but also an important part of accelerating the construction of a modern water network system and promoting high-quality development of water conservancy in the new stage in Henan Province. It directly serves the new round of national action to increase grain production capacity by billions of kilograms, and plays a crucial role in implementing the national strategy of ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin, ensuring national food security, which is the "big picture of the country". With the advancement of the project, a more intelligent, efficient, and green Yellow River waterway will be reactivated, continuously nourishing the vast land of eastern Henan and contributing solid water resources to secure China's rice bowl.Editor/Cheng Liting