seawater remedy: Hyderabad-based IVRCL Infrastructures and Projects Ltd, a company that specialises in water treatment systems, has bagged a Rs 900 crore seawater desalination project to end Chennai's water crisis and supply drinking water to the city. IVRCL will construct a seawater desalination plant on design, build, own, operate and transfer basis. The company has entered into a joint venture with Befesa Construction, a Spanish company, for the project and says the project would be implemented through a special purpose vehicle that it would float jointly with Befesa.

china's textile relief: The EU and China have entered into a pact to end the conflict over EU quotas on Chinese textiles imposed in June 2005. Over 75 million Chinese garments remained piled up in European ports following the imposition of the quotas. Now, the pact provides for releasing half of these unconditionally, while the rest will be counted against 2006 quotas. The quotas were imposed in view of the sudden hike in Chinese imports following the end of a decade-old global textile tariff and quota system in January 2005. EU members are yet to approve the pact.