URUMQI, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region provided access to drinking water for more than 264,000 people in rural areas by August, according to the region's water resources department.

A total of 300,000 people in rural areas are expected to have access to drinking water by the end of 2019, the department said.

China has invested 12.2 billion yuan (1.71 billion U.S. dollars) in more than 1,500 water supply projects and built various water pipelines totaling 200,000 km in Xinjiang since 1980, which benefit 13.35 million rural residents, accounting for 97 percent of the total.