Earth Tech, a Tyco International company, plans to double its investment in China from the current 1.3 billion yuan in the next few years to meet rising demand for urban water supply and wastewater treatment in the world's most populated country.

The California-based company has identified 12 to 13 cities in North and South China for its future expansion, said Alan Krusi, president of Earth Tech.

Krusi made the remarks on the sidelines of the inauguration of the new Tianjin Jieyuan water treatment plant on Tuesday. Jieyuan is one of the city's three waterworks.

The renovated water factory is China's largest urban water facility to use dissolved air flotation (DAF) technology. Using the technology, air is injected into the bottom of a water tank where tiny bubbles are formed and attach themselves to solids in the water.

The bubbles, with the solids, float to the surface and are removed using mechanical scrapers. The process removes algae and other low-density particles and organisms. It could help reduce use of chemicals in water treatment by as much as 30 percent.

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Earth Tech will "look for partnerships" with water works around Taihu Lake, which is now suffering a massive algae outbreak, said Zhao Yingjie, general manager at Earth Tech Beijing office.

Tianjin Water Works Co consulted Earth Tech in 2001 about renovating its water treatment facilities to better deal with a similar algae outbreak in Tianjin in the summer of 2000.

The two sides set up a joint venture, in which Earth Tech holds 52 percent, in 2002 to operate the Jieyuan water factory and adopt DAF as a major processing technology. The contract is for 20 years.

The five-year renovation project cost $27 million and was financed by Tyco Asia Investment.

Earth Tech entered China in 1997 and has two other projects in Qinhuangdao, Hebei Province and Guangzhou, Guangdong Province.

China contributes 10 percent of Earth Tech's global business and is one of the company's "strategic" markets along with Latin America and Eastern Europe, Krusi said.

China has allowed foreign investment in water treatment since the late 1990s and opened the water distribution sector to foreign investors in 2002.

Veolia Water has been the most active foreign water company in the country. The French firm has undertaken over 20 projects, five of which provide full water services, including water production, network distribution and customer services.