Some 1.58 million cubic meters of sewage was treated in Beijing in 2003, nearly 40 times the volume in 1990, according to the state-run Beijing drainage group.  

Beijing is now capable of treating 56 percent of local sewage, a remarkable rise from less than 5 percent in 1990, when the first sewage disposal plant in Beijing became operational, said an official with the group.

In the past 13 years, Beijing invested several billion yuan in setting up seven sewage treatment plants.

In 2004, the city will spend at least 1.5 billion yuan (US$180 million) in establishing four new sewage treatment plants, according to the group.

(Xinhua News Agency January 26, 2004)