Xianda (Tianjin) Seawater Resources Development Co Ltd, a water treatment technology provider, signed an agreement for the construction of the first zero-liquid discharge seawater desalination project in China on Wednesday.

The desalination project, based in Nangang Industrial Zone in Tianjin, was launched in 2014 with a total investment of 15 billion yuan ($2.2 billion). It received a first phase investment of 5.5 billion yuan in 2014 and is expected to become operational in 2019.

Xianda (Tianjin) is a wholly-owned subsidiary formed by Xianda Resources (Hong Kong) Co Ltd.

The construction agreement, signed between Xianda and the Nangang authority, is a build, own, operate public-private partnership, in which Xianda builds, owns and operates the project for a period of 50 years, with government support.

The project has strong backing from Malaysia. Prime Minister Najib Razak, who was at the signing of the construction agreement, lauded it as "an iconic project that makes Malaysians proud."

Xianda leads in designing and implementing "zero liquid discharge" facilities, which desalinate seawater into various usages for industrial consumption and also produce salts and various chemicals from concentrated brine water, thus preventing them from polluting the local marine ecological environment in Bohai Bay.

Mah Sau Cheong, chairman and CEO of Xianda Resources, said that his company will expand its engagement in the Chinese mainland by enhancing investment, increasing technology transfer, strengthening the responsibility of environment protection and engaging in corporate social responsibility.

"Nangang is a world-class petrochemical industrial zone in the collaborative development plan of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. We have the equipment and capability to design, build and operate the project and are capable of ensuring quality," said Mah.

The seawater desalination project provides various types of industrial water and basic raw materials for petroleum and heavy chemical projects in Nangang Industrial Zone.

Meanwhile, the salt production project that goes along with it will open up approximately 300 square kilometers of salt farms. The project is expected to ease Tianjin's long-standing shortage of freshwater.