The famous tourist destination the Maldives is an archipelago country consisting of 26 natural atolls (including coral islands, coral reefs and surrounding shallow waters) and 1,192 coral islands, about 200 of which are inhabited. The ocean accounts for about 99.7% of the territory, which limits groundwater resources to those stored under the islands, making the Maldives one of the most water-deficient regions in the world.

A bird's view of Maldives [Photo/enorth.com.cn]

Although the Maldives can resort to the ocean for fresh water, it is still faced with tight water resources because the single filter membrane desalination technology used by desalination plants has high operating costs but low efficiency. In the capital Malé the price of water is 100 rupees (40 yuan) per liter, and the faucet water is not potable. People can only buy bottled water for drinking at even higher prices. Locals there collect condensation from air conditioners to water the flowers or wipe the floor.

Collecting condensation from air conditioners [Photo/enorth.com.cn]

Four years ago, the Maldives faced a very serious water shortage crisis. At that time, China transported 20 million tons of fresh water to the Maldives by sea to help the country in a timely manner. This aid seeded cooperation between the two countries regarding sea water resources. In 2018, a company from Tianjin, Zhonghe Desalination Co., Ltd., came to the Maldives. Its aim was to build a seawater desalination plant with the strongest processing capacity to turn 1,000 tons of seawater into fresh water for drinking each day.

More importantly, the enterprise brought with it a new thermal seawater filtration technology. Relying on evaporation to produce fresh water, the technology does not affect water quality like filter technology does. Thermal desalination technology is more advanced than filter purification technology in both processing efficiency and safety.

Thermal seawater filtration [Photo/enorth.com.cn]

But the heat needed for thermal seawater desalination was another problem in that there is not enough heat in the Maldives, and the traditional method of burning coal could cause pollution. In this regard, Chinese engineers took a double benefits approach: a diesel power plant built next to the desalination zone. Through hydropower co-production, it not only provides heat for thermal desalination, but also reduces operating costs of seawater desalination. This approach will reduce the local water price by one-fifth.

Through its spirit of being ready to conquer problems, this Tianjin company has built the largest and only hydropower joint production base in a country more than 4,000 kilometers away. At present, the overall project is near completion and is expected to be put into production before the end of 2018.

Five desalination projects on other islands in the Maldives are also under smooth construction, aided by China. The Maldives is actively responding to the Belt and Road Initiative and was the first country to sign the Memorandum of Understanding on the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road with China. Fresh water, a gift from China’s “Belt and Road” initiative to the Maldives, is watering the growing friendship and all-round relationship between the two countries.