A project cooperation deal was signed last Friday between the Qingdao Hua'ou Group and the Tianjin Institute of Desalination and Seawater Use under the State Oceanic Administration.

The desalinator sited at the Huangdao Power Plant can produce 3,000 tons of fresh water a day when it starts operating in October 2003, project officials say.

Construction of the project will begin in October this year and will cost about 42 million yuan (US$5 million).

The desalinator will use technologies jointly developed by the groups involved.

It can produce one ton of fresh water at a cost of less than five yuan, technicians say.

The power plant at present uses 6,000 tons of fresh water a day, bought at prices between 2.3 yuan and three yuan per ton.

The desalinator would keep costs down by using steam from the power plant as its energy source, the technicians said.

China is listed by the United Nations as one of 13 countries facing the worst water shortages.

Government figures show that 300 Chinese cities are short of water, with 110 of them facing a serious shortage.

By 2030 China's water supply will be 40 billion to 50 billion cubic meters short, according to a Ministry of Water Resources report.

(People's Daily July 3, 2002)