A fifth desalination plant in Penghu County is expected be completed by the end of the year, Taiwan Water Corp said on Tuesday, although a government official suggested there was still a hurdle to overcome.
The plant was initially planned to be completed in May, but that date was pushed back to the end of this year, and that target remains in place, the company said.
However, Public Construction Commission Minister Wu Tse-cheng (吳澤成), who visited Penghu on Tuesday to check on the project’s progress, urged the company to overcome horizontal directional drilling challenges to complete the plant on time.
The drilling process is needed to install the piping that will draw in ocean water to the plant.
The plant, which is located in Magong and is to supply an estimated 4,000m3 of water daily to the city, has assumed growing importance as the county’s water supply remains tenuous.
Penghu is the only region in Taiwan with a tight water supply.
Taiwan Water spokesperson Wu Ching-wen (武經文) said the new plant would stabilize the supplies for Penghu’s households and tourism sector and preserve groundwater by reducing its use.
Magong needs 25,000m3 of water a day, of which 2,000m3 comes from reservoirs, 4, 000m3 comes from groundwater and salt-freshwater, and 20, 000m3 from two other desalination plants, Wu Ching-wen said. Those plants are in Wangan (望安) and Siyu townships (西嶼).
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