Thirsty China Turns To The Sea

China plans to use desalinated seawater to combat water shortages in coastal areas, producing up to 250 million gallons of water per day by 2010, a news report said Tuesday.

A plan issued by the Finance Ministry and other agencies calls for desalination plants to supply 16 to 24 percent of water used in coastal areas by 2010, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

China is one of the world's driest countries and hundreds of cities suffer from shortages of water for homes and industry.

Competition for water has been aggravated by the intense population pressure of its 1.3 billion people and surging economic growth.

The new plan calls for between 200 and 250 million gallons of desalinated water per day by 2010 for use by industry, according to Xinhua.

Production is projected to rise to between 650 and 800 million gallons, or more than 2.5 billion liters, per day by 2020, Xinhua said.