A solid waste garbage disposal station, believed to be the largest of its kind in China, has been completed recently in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province.
The station at Heimifeng Mountain can handle 45 million cubic meters of garbage and is to begin operating in six months, said Zou Te, who is in charge of the project. It is expected to operate for 34 years.
Construction of the project cost 190 million yuan (US$22.8 million) which included a loan of 650 million Japanese yen (about US$5 million).
Changsha's urban population of 1.7 million discharges more than 1,800 tons of garbage a day.
The new garbage disposal station will replace the existing three open garbage grounds, which cause heavy pollution, Zou said.
The project comprises a seven kilometer-long road, a garbage burial ground and a sewage disposal center. The burial ground was completed last June.
The gas, produced in the process of garbage disposal, can be used for heating, power generation and irrigation.
(Xinhua News Agency August 27, 2002)