The National Development and Reform Commission recently approved an investment of 11.5 billion yuan for the purpose of building 47 sewage treatment plants and 34 garbage disposable plants in Chongqing, China's southwestern municipality. The plants will be set up in a bid to prevent pollution coming in from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and preserving the natural beauty of the Three Gorges Reservoir area, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The construction of the plants, listed as one of the country's most important environmental protection projects in the Three Gorges and the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, is to be completed by 2010.

From 2001 to 2010, Chongqing City has been scheduled to build 48 sewage works in its urban areas and 101 additional ones in its rural areas. The plants, with 841-km sewage pipelines extending into the city, will have daily capacities totaling 3.25 million cubic meters.

The investment amount for the nine-year construction of the sewage treatment plants is expected to reach 11.87 billion yuan.

Currently, the Chongqing Water Holding (Group) Co. Ltd. and the Sino-French Water Supply Co. Ltd. have co-invested in developing water-supply-and-outlet projects in China's middle and western cities, with a registered investment of 470 million yuan.

The city has 18 sewage works at present, with a daily capacity of more than 600,000 tons. Recently, a digital database of the sewage works near the Three Gorges was set up in the municipality. Testing and warning functions are included in the database to judge the performance of the sewage treatment plants.

Chongqing City, the country's youngest municipality since its inception in 1997, stands near the Three Gorges Dam, one of the biggest hydropower complex projects in the world.

(Source: Xinhua, translated by Wu Jin)