Modern Water is set to build a forward-osmosis (FO) desalination plant in Xugong Island, China.

A contract for the 500 m³/d FO plant will be moved towards under a three-way outline contract with Ottomen Estate Resources and Hangzhou Water.

Modern Water has also signed a contract with Hangzhou Water, China’s largest desalination equipment and construction company, to act as its sole distributor in the Middle East and its non-exclusive distributor in the rest of the world except China for its containerised seawater reverse-osmosis desalination plants.

A contract with Beijing Green Science & Technology Company to act as exclusive distributor in China to supply Modern Water’s water-monitoring products was previously announced in October.

The Xugong Island contract outlines the way in which the parties will cooperate on the development of the facility and is expected to see Modern Water deploy its FO technology in China for the first time. Modern Water says its process provides both large energy reductions of up to 30% and a reduced environmental impact compared with other technologies.

The contract follows China’s latest Five Year Plan, which identified the need for a large increase in desalination capacity to help better control water shortages and improve environmental protection. Subject to agreement of a final contract, successful implementation of the project would give Modern Water a strong position from which to compete for further projects.