Desalinated sea water to provide 30 pct supply to Beijing

Map of Caofeidian area in Hebei province. [Photo: cpc.people.com.cn]

Beijing Enterprises Water Group Ltd ("BEWG"), a large-scale company in China's water industry, has initiated a program to desalinate sea water to supply the capital, the Beijing Times reports.

The project, located in the Caofeidian area of Hebei province, is expected to begin in 2019.

Caofeidian is home to many big, hi-tech industrial companies previously situated in Beijing. As its water quality is much better than the surrounding areas, BEWG launched a pilot water transport project last year, producing five tons of desalinated sea water per day.

This year, the company published a plan to desalinate and transmit 100 tons of sea water per day from the year 2019. This accounts for about one-third of the water supply for Beijing residents. The cost of each ton is expected to stand at eight yuan (1.29 USD).

Last year, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) program was put into operation. The LNG is being shipped to Caifeidian, then "gasified" and transported to Beijing through pipelines. At present the project can provide 24-million cubic meters of natural gas per day.