A Study on Ancient Irrigation Project Management

There are many ancient irrigation projects in China which are still in use today. These projects serve for hundreds or even thousands of years thanks for good management. This paper describes the current status of China’s ancient irrigation projects in terms of conservation, management and operation, and analyzes them with respect to project management, water management and cost management. Based on cases of these ancient irrigation projects, some of which have been listed Heritage Irrigation Structures (HIS) and some are under application, the paper analyzes management experience mainly on three types of project, i.e., state-run project, government-supervised private-run project, and private-built private-run project. Good project management, water management and cost management are crucial for sustainable operation of these projects, and the good management experience is still instructive today.