China and Singapore have started a cooperation program to build Asia's largest desalination plant in north China's port city of Tianjin.

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

The project is being jointly launched by the Dagang District and Singapore 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, creating a daily processing capacity of 100,000 tons sea water.

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

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

Source: Xinhua