Despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been affecting the Tibet autonomous region since early August, the region has been making efforts to resume its water conservation projects, Tibet Business Daily reported.

The region has planned 261 water conservation projects this year, and 215 of them have resumed construction, according to the regional water conservancy department.

All water conservation projects in the cities of Lhokha, Nyingchi and Chamdo have resumed construction.

Phurbu Tsering, vice-general manager of Zhufeng Chengtou Group, the company in charge of the construction of the Shang River hydropower project in Shigatse, said the fish channels had been completed recently. The reservoir began impounding water on Oct 12.

"Thanks to the big support of the government, we have overcome the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and our construction has carried on smoothly without a shutdown," he said.

Currently, there are 320 workers on the construction site, including 76 local employees involved in stone-laying, construction material transportation, cleaning up construction waste and assisting epidemic prevention and control work.

The Shang River hydropower project will provide electricity, irrigation and municipal water.

So far, about 93 percent of the project has been completed, with the main body of the project expected to wrap up before May.