China’s seawater desalination capacity now stands at 524,000 m³/d, according to Li Baochun, deputy director of the Tianjin Municipal Commission of Science & Technology, quoted in the People’s Daily.
Li added that Tianjin’s current desalination capacity accounts for 41% of the country’s total, and the city plans to nearly double its capacity to 480,000 m³/d by 2015.
Li was announcing that 300 representatives from 14 countries and regions have registered to take part in the 2011 International Desalination and Water Reuse Forum to be held in Tianjin on 6-7 April 2011, which the city is jointly hosting with the International Desalination Association (IDA). The official also said that the city has also made a proposal to host the IDA World Congress in 2013.
Tianjin, with per-capita water availability of 160 m³, is on the list of Chinese cities facing a severe water shortage. Li said that seawater desalination has become one of the key solutions to addressing the water shortage.