Chinese construction workers celebrate for the breakthrough of the tunnel under the Yellow River (or Huanghe) on the middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project in Zhengzhou city, central Chinas Henan province, 22 June 2010. A tunnel below the Yellow River on the central route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project was dug through on Tuesday (22 June 2010) in central Chinas Henan province, so that water from the Yangtze River could pass under the River. Construction of the tunnel started in September 2005. Another tunnel under the Yellow River for the eastern route was dug through in March in east Chinas Shandong province. China is accelerating the construction of the water diversion project to meet growing demand in the parched north, project authorities said. The project will divert water from the Yangtze River to the dry north via three routes: eastern, middle and western. A number of construction projects have been completed or are near completion. By the end of March, 40.896 billion yuan (US$5.99 billion) had been spent in constructing the middle and central routes, from the earmarked total of 90.6 billion yuan.
