A total of 60 percent of the sewage in China's urban areas will be treated by the year 2010 and the proportion will be even higher in some major cities, says a Chinese official.
The country would gain an additional 26 million cubic meters in sewage treatment capacity during the tenth five-year-plan period (2001-2005), said Zhang Yue, deputy head of the Urban Construction Division with the Ministry of Construction.
By the year 2005, about 45 percent of urban sewage will be treated centrally, rising to 60 percent in cities with a population of more than 500,000.
According to Zhang, the main areas and projects targeted for sewage treatment are the Haihe, Liaohe and Huaihe rivers, as well as Dianchi, Taihu and Chaohu lakes, the Bohai Bay rim region, the projects to divert water from the Yangtze River in the south to China's arid northern regions and Beijing's water sources.
Construction of sewage pipeline networks in cities remained a major future task, said Zhang. A list of 70 sewage treatment projects requiring the installation of 3,200 km of pipelines was drawn up in November this year.
These projects, which will be funded from state treasury bonds,will cost about 602 million US dollars.
Source: Xinhuanet