China will invest in new desalination plants over the 2021-2025 period and raise capacity to 2.9 million tonnes a day in a bid to boost water supplies, the country’s state planning agency said in a new “five-year plan” for the sector.

As much as 1.25 million tonnes per day of new capacity will be commissioned over the period, including 1.05 million tonnes in coastal cities and 200,000 tonnes in “island regions,” the National Development and Reform Commission said on Wednesday.

Demonstration seawater desalination projects will be built in the provinces of Liaoning, Hebei, Shandong and Zhejiang as well as the city of Tianjin.

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