The last dock used solely for the shipping of sewage will be removed from Suzhou Creek within the next three years, officials with the Changning District Sanitation Bureau said Tuesday.

The dock, which is near Zhongshan Park, will be relocated to a site outside the Outer Ring Road along with the district's waste treatment plant and a facility for washing and repairing sewage transport vehicles.

A new sanitation base that is expected to cost 150 million yuan (US$18.75 million) will go into use by the end of 2008.

The bureau said new technologies have cut down on the amount of sewage moved by ship.

"We are now using compressing machines and transferring most of excrement through underground pipes or vehicles," said a bureau official surnamed Chen.

The city was home to 56 docks used solely for the shipping of sewage in 1964. Improved infrastructure has allowed the city to transport more human waste by truck or pipeline, making the stinky docks an unnecessary eyesore.

By 1994, all but 25 of the sewage docks had been demolished, sanitation officials said.

(Shanghai Daily November 22, 2006)