ANKARA

The world's largest all-electric cutter suction dredger began pilot operations in China on Tuesday, clearing silt and sediment from a reservoir in the capital Beijing, according to state media.

The dredger named "Junlan" cleared a portion of silt and sediment at Guanting Reservoir on the Yongding River, with 600 kilowatts of driving power and a maximum digging depth of 25 meters, according to Beijing-based Xinhua News.

Tianjin Dredging, a wholly owned subsidiary of China Communications Construction, designed and developed the vessel, which can dredge up to 2,000 cubic meters of silt per hour, the same amount as it takes to empty a standard swimming pool.

Yang Zhengjun, director of Tianjin's dredging technology and equipment research and development center, said the dredger is three times more efficient than previous models.

Junlan, equipped with advanced underwater pumping facilities, can transport sludge over distances of more than 5 kilometers (3.1 miles).

According to the dredging plan, 11.5 million cubic meters of sediment are expected to be removed from the bottom of the Guanting Reservoir.