A staff member releases water from a solar-powered tube well in Quetta, Pakistan, on July 21, 2019. The Chinese Embassy in Pakistan has handed over a sustainable water project to Pakistan's southwest provincial capital Quetta as part of China's ongoing efforts to build more social development projects in the country. (Xinhua/Liu Tian)

QUETTA, Pakistan, July 22 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in Pakistan has handed over a sustainable water project to Pakistan's southwest provincial capital Quetta as part of China's ongoing efforts to build more social development projects in the country.

Minister Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy Zhao Lijian on Sunday inaugurated the project of five ready-to-use solar-powered tube wells and gave it to Quetta's Water and Sanitation Authority (WASA), the sole water distributor in the provincial capital of the southwest Balochistan province.

Managing Director of WASA Mujeeb Ur Rehman Qambrani told Xinhua here that Quetta, with a population of 2.5 million people, is undergoing drinking water issues owing to rapid urbanization, increasing population growth and alarming underground water depletion.

During the handover ceremony, Zhao said the project is a gift from the Chinese Embassy for the people of Quetta, adding that several projects like the tube well program have already been started in different parts of Balochistan, especially in southwest Gwadar city.

Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan's Parliament Qasim Suri said that his hometown Quetta has been suffering from water shortage for the last several years. He appreciated China's quick response on the Pakistani side's request and established the tube wells.

A local businessman, Haji Jalil, told Xinhua that they had to spend a big portion of their incomes to buy water, but now he hoped that they would be able to save their money to spend on other needs.