LANZHOU, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- A major water diversion project in northwest China's Gansu Province has been completed as the second phase of the project began supplying water Tuesday.

The project is expected to alleviate water shortages for more than 6 million people in the province, local authorities said Tuesday.

The project is designed to deliver an average of 550 million cubic meters of water every year from the Taohe River, a major tributary of the Yellow River, the country's second-longest, to cities and counties suffering severe water shortages in the central part of Gansu, through its nearly 1,070-km-long canals.

Construction of the project first started in 1958, but was suspended three years later due to a lack of funds and insufficient technology.

After close to half a century, the project restarted in 2006 and completed its first-phase construction in 2014. A total of 575 million cubic meters of water has been diverted from the Taohe River to central Gansu since then. Enditem