A seawater desalination equipment?model displays at 17th China International High-Tech Expo in Beijing, May 14, 2014. [Photo/IC]

Enersave group, a Malaysia-based wastewater treatment and investment company, has launched an integrated project of seawater desalination and salt production in Tianjin Nangang Industrial Zone, with a total investment of 15 billion yuan ($2.4 billion).

As the first zero liquid discharge seawater desalination project in China, the initial phase of the project, with an investment of 5.5 billion yuan, will start operation in 2017, according to the company.

Enersave said the project could desalinate seawater into various usages for industrial consumption, and produce salts and chemical products from the concentrated brine water.

Located along the southern coast of Tianjin Binhai New Area, the Nangang Industrial Zone is home to a group of petroleum and heavy chemical industries.

“The project will provide various types of industrial water and basic raw materials for local companies and help solve Tianjin’s shortage of freshwater resources,” said Wai Shiang Liang, CEO of the Enersave Group.

Florist clown makes success out of small business	Urban farming in a high-end shopping mall