In November 2016, Water. Desalination + reuse (Faversham House) reported that Malaysia's Xianda Seawater Resources and the Tianjin Administrative Commission signed an operating contract for a planned desalination plant on 8 November. The project was reportedly to be China's first zero liquid discharge facility, supplying desalinated and treated, clarified water to petrochemical and heavy chemical industry in the Nangang zone. It was set up as a build-own-operate deal worth CNY 15 billion (US$2.2 billion), with completion planned for 2019.
The report showed the scale at which China planned desalination for industrial zones, and the interest in plants that leave no liquid residue.