Shanghai is building the nation's largest incineration plant to transform city waste into electricity by an eco-friendly technology.

The US$86 million project, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year, will be capable of generating 460,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a day.

The first stage of the Jiangqiao Garbage Incineration Plant project has been in operation for eight months. It has so far burned 113,800 tons of garbage to generate 13 million kilowatt-hours of electricity.

The incineration temperature of the plant is kept at more than 850 degrees Celsius to prevent the production of dioxin, a highly toxic chemical.

Some of the waste produced is used to make construction materials.

(Xinhua News Agency August 27, 2004)