Investment in water facilities in Chinese cities from 2011 to 2015 is estimated to be no less than 500 billion to 600 billion yuan ($77.4 billion-$92.8 billion), said Shao Yisheng, Vice President of China Academy of Urban Planning and Design in Singapore on July 6.

During the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15), China will upgrade about 2,000 water plants with a combined capacity of treating 64 million cubic meters of water every day, he said.

In addition, 2,358 water plants with a combined capacity of producing 40 million cubic meters will be built, in part to meet the demand of growing towns and cities as urbanization speeds up. China will also upgrade and build a total of 150,000 km of water pipe over the next five years.