East China's Shandong Province, a coastal region that suffers from a
shortage of fresh water, will invest 3.6 billion yuan over the next four years
to build 21 sea water desalination plants.
Once built, the plants will
turn out about 140 million cubic meters of fresh water every year, according to
a government plan.
Qingdao, Yantai, Binzhou and a few other cities will
benefit from the project, according to the plan.
Like many Chinese
regions, Shandong is suffering a worsening water shortage, but its 3,024
kilometers of coastline offers the solution of desalinating sea water.
Shandong currently has 16 plants desalinating 32,000 cubic meters of sea
water per day, 57 percent of the country's total.
Besides sea water
desalination, Shandong is seeking more fresh water through China's mammoth
south-to-north water diversion program and the water diversion program of the
Yellow River.
The water resources in Shandong meet only one third of the
province's demand.
According to the National Development and Reform Commission and some other
state-level agencies, desalinated seawater is expected to contribute 16 to 24
percent of the water supply in coastal areas by 2010, with a daily processing
capacity of up to 3 million cubic meters in 2020.
China is among the
driest countries in the world, and 400 out of 600 Chinese cities suffer from
water shortages for domestic and industrial uses.
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)