China and Singapore are cooperating to build Asia's largest desalination plant in north China's port city of Tianjin.

The plant, with a total investment of US$90 million, is scheduled to be completed in 2008 in Tianjin's Dagang District, an industrial park in the city, local government said.

The plant is a joint project by the Tianjin municipal government and Singapore's Hyflux Group, a corporation that specializes in treating brackish and waste water.

The initial phase of the plant will be completed in July next year, with a daily processing capacity of 100,000 tons of seawater.

Upon the final completion of the project in 2008, the plant is expected to have a daily processing capacity of 150,000 tons.

The desalinated water will be used mainly by neighboring enterprises in the Dagang Industrial Park.

The cost of the desalinated water will be four yuan (US$0.49) per ton, according to sources with the industrial park.

(Xinhua News Agency August 12, 2005)