The collaborative project on the utilization of reclaimed water jointly launched by China State Shipbuilding Corporation Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co Ltd and Shanghai Chengtou Group Corp, the first large-scale water recycling project established in Shanghai by industrial enterprises, was put into operation on Wednesday, according to the Shanghai-based shipbuilder.

Under the agreement signed earlier in July, the parties will promote the wider application of recycled water in the shipbuilding industry to enhance the green development in shipbuilding sector.

Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding will replace its ship ballast water, plant water, and equipment commissioning cooling water with the purified recycled water reclaimed from the nearby sewage treatment plant of Shanghai Chengtou, said the shipbuilder.

The launch of the project is expected to save 700,000 tons of tap water on an annual basis, which is equivalent to the volume of around 370 standard swimming pools.

Being Shanghai's first industrial enterprise to introduce and use reclaimed water system in large scale, Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding is offering a feasible solution for innovative water conservation in shipping industry, and setting a benchmark for water saving among shipbuilding enterprises.