SHIJIAZHUANG, Dec. 18  -- Beijing's neighboring province of Hebei began receiving water through the south-north water diversion project Thursday, local authorities said.

The middle route's first-stage project supplies more than three billion cubic meters of water annually to the province, said Yuan Fu, chief of Hebei's office of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project.

It will alleviate water shortage in Hebei and help promote sustainable development in local society and economy, provincial governor Zhang Qingwei said.

The middle route's first-stage project starts at Danjiangkou reservoir in the central province of Hubei. It was officially put into operation on Dec. 12..

It will supply 9.5 billion cubic meters of water per year to the northern regions, including the cities of Beijing and Tianjin, and provinces of Henan and Hebei.