The state-run Korea Environment Corp. said Tuesday it will provide technology to clean up China’s fifth-largest lake and produce biogas from the waste.

The company has signed an agreement with Hefei city in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui to exchange technology and know-how to decontaminate Chaohu, one of the most polluted lakes in China.

Hefei and Anhui authorities plan to spend 70 billion yuan ($11 billion)on improving water quality, in line with a national campaign to clean up the Yangtze River.

About 11 billion yuan of that money is to be spent on the cleanup of Chaohu, the Korean officials said.

“China will be the most important overseas market for Korean environmental companies,” said Park Seung-hwan, chief executive officer of KECO.

“We will try to help the (Korean) private sector to get involved with the project,” he said.

The agreement also envisions cooperation regarding the treatment of urban waste -- in particular, technology to produce biogas from food waste. Biogas is a type of clean fuel that can be used as heat for buildings and even to power vehicles.

Officials of the two countries will work together to build a biogas plant capable of processing 200 tons of waste in their first cooperative project, the KECO said. 

By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)