BEIJING (Reuters) - China has transferred 10 billion cubic meters of fresh water from the country’s south to its drought-prone north in the few years since a massive water diversion project came onstream, authorities said on Tuesday.

In recent decades, water supplies in north have been challenged by protracted droughts, a surging population, agriculture, and unprecedented manufacturing growth.

China aims to ultimately supply 44.8 billion cubic meters annually to the north via the ambitious water diversion project. That would be about seven percent of the volume of water consumed by the entire country in 2015.

The expensive engineering project, which involves transf