"The water purification system which GE is donating is going to literally save thousands of lives," said Bob Pagett, President of Assist International, a US non-profit humanitarian group working with the company in disaster relief work.

The 75 tonnes of equipment costing 2.5 million dollars was transported by the world's largest aircraft, the Antonov An-225, originally built for the Soviet space program.

"It cost GE about one million dollars to get the system to Indonesia," GE spokesman Jonathan Klein told AFP.

Banda Aceh was the worst hit by the 9.0-magnitude quake off the coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island on December 26 that triggered a tsunami, leaving nearly 220,000 dead and millions uprooted in 11 countries along the Indian Ocean coast.

The water purification system is expected to be operational next week and could produce at least 432,000 gallons (1.6 million liters) of potable water for 110,000 people, a statement by Assist International said.

GE, the world's biggest company by market value, is also donating an 800 kilowatt generator to power the system, as well as additional equipment including breakers, cables, membranes and filters.

More than 50 engineers, operational specialists and project managers were involved in assembling and installing the system, to be turned over to Indonesia's department of public works.

GE employees have also donated more than three million dollars for the Asian tsunami victims, which would be matched with equivalent funding by the company's philanthropic arm GE Foundation, officials said.

This is in addition to the Foundation's contributions of one million dollars to the Red Cross and 100,000 dollars to UNICEF.

In total, the GE family had pledged more than 15 million dollars in cash, products and services to the relief efforts.

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