Spanish company Abengoa has begun commercial operations at the 100,000 m³/d desalination plant in Qingdao in Shandong province, the second largest commercial port in northern China.

The seawater reverse-osmosis plant is designed with ultrafiltration pretreatment and a centralized pumping system. Thanks to this technology, the treated water has one of the lowest levels of turbidity.

The plant, which has a new system for remineralizing desalinated water, can also operate at extreme temperatures and is highly energy efficient.

The company, which began constructing the plant in 2010, will be responsible for operating and maintaining it for 25 years. During this time it forecasts revenues in excess of  750 million from the sale of water and a further  25 million from technical support operations.

Abengoa said on 30 January 2013 that the project, which cost  135 million, is the first Chinese desalination project carried out using a project finance structure totally financed by local Chinese banks. It will increase Abengoa's installed water desalination capacity to nearly 1.1 million m³/d.