Batain Lai!! Minami no Shima no Mizu Monogatari

The film was directed by Noboru Ishiguro (The Super Dimension Fortress Macross) and is based on the true story of Yoichi Hatta (1886-1942), a civil engineer who traveled to Japanese-ruled Taiwan in 1910 to build a complex irrigation system in the barren southwest. Hatta manages to overcome the initial doubts of local farmers, but a tragic tunnel accident eventually halts the project and shakes his confidence.

(Source: AniDB)