The city is set to tap its thermal resources for the first time, with the drilling of new hot springs in Huaxin Town of Qingpu County to start later this month.

The 2,200-metre-deep well is expected to be Shanghai's first hot spring, with the temperature to reach about 50 degrees centigrade.

"As a clean energy source, hot springs can be widely used by industry, agriculture and tourism, as well as for medical therapy," said Liu Shouqi, secretary-general of Shanghai Geological Society.

"Shanghai is the only place in the country that has not yet used this kind of resource but it has rich supplies of hot springs," he said.

According to historical data and the society's geological surveys, there are several layers of thermal springs at 1,500-2,000 meters beneath Shanghai.

The society also believes it is feasible for central Jing'an District, Beixinjing, nearby areas in Changning District and several other places to store large quantities of the resource.

"We planned to conduct a city-wide investigation of thermal resources in the late 1990s. But, due to financial problems, we have not carried it out yet," Liu said. "The only practical way to do so is to co-operate with developers."

The well in Huaxin Town was tapped in co-operation with local developers who plan to construct a resort with the hot spring as the main attraction.

Liu said it is time this fresh and abundant resource was explored, given the need to build a cleaner, more beautiful and sustainable city.

The exploitation of thermal resources deep underground will also have little impact on the city's ground water levels and is unlikely to cause subsidence problems, Liu said.

(China Daily May 5, 2003)