Shanghai's two biggest sewage pipelines crossed the bottom of the Huangpu River yesterday, which will help realize the city's goal of restoring clean water in the downtown watercourses by 2008, a local newspaper reported today.

After the two pipelines are expanded to the mouth of the Yangtze River, the city's third phase sewage treatment and collection project will be completed.

The two pipelines, both 2.7-meters in diameter, can carry a total of 1.09 million cubic square meters of wastewater every day after the third phase project is put into use.

Shanghai set up 6,000 kilometers of sewer pipelines and about 40 sewage disposal plants by the end of last year.

During the 11th Five-Year Plan period (2006-2010), the city plans to build another 20 sewage disposal plants, and sewer pipelines will stretch across the downtown area by 2008.

(Shanghai Daily November 17, 2006)