BEIJING — China has issued an action plan for seawater desalination utilization development over the next five years, according to China Science Daily on June 4.

The action plan, jointly issued by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Natural Resources, is expected to promote the large-scale utilization of seawater desalination and ensure the safety of water resources in coastal areas.

China's seawater desalination scale will exceed 2.9 million metric tons per day by 2025, an increase of more than 1.25 million tons per day, according to the action plan.

Seawater desalination in coastal cities will increase by more than 1.05 million tons per day by 2025, while the island areas will see an increase of more than 200,000 tons per day.

The action plan also called for improving water supply security for seawater desalination, expanding the scale of seawater desalination in industrial zones, enhancing the water supply capacity for islands and ships, and exploring the application of desalination technology.

China has constructed 123 seawater desalination projects with a desalination capacity exceeding 1.6 million cubic meters per day, according to the NDRC.

The action plan called for strengthening technology development for seawater desalination, ensuring the safety of industrial and supply chains, and enhancing service capacity.