LHASA - China will spend more than 11.6 billion yuan ($1.8 billion) on the construction of Tibet's irrigation and drinking water projects from 2011 to 2015, local authorities said Tuesday.

The money will go to 16 categories of water programs that cover irrigation, drinking water, flood prevention and control and hydropower, sources with Tibet's Water Resources Department said.

The water projects will enable all Tibetan farmers and herders to get access to clean drinking water upon completion, and more than 90 percent of the region's rural population will have access to electricity, the sources said.

In the first half of this year, about 3 billion yuan has been earmarked for the water projects that include 129 programs, of which 125 are newly constructed ones.

During the 11th Five-Year Program period (2006-2010), about 7 billion yuan has been channeled into the water programs in Tibet, providing 1.62 million farmers and herders in the region with clean drinking water.