The Asian Development Bank said Monday it has approved a loan of 55.8 million US dollars to help improve the urban environment of Fuzhou, the capital of China's Fujian Province, by reducing water pollution and protecting water resources.

The ADB said in a statement that the project would improve the urban environment for the 1.85 million residents of Fuzhou by constructing and rehabilitating sewer networks, rehabilitating the system of inland creeks, and strengthening governance in water resource management.

It will also improve the water quality to achieve targeted standards in the inland creeks and the Min River, in a manner that supports integrated water resource management, it said.

"The project will improve water quality and environmental conditions, as well as increase access to safe drinking water and reduce water-borne diseases, directly improving living conditions and public health standards in Fuzhou," says Edgar A. Cua, an ADB principal project economist.

Fuzhou is a major cultural, commercial, and industrial center in the Min River delta. The Min River, as the ADB said, is suffering water quality deterioration due to the large quantity of untreated wastewater discharged into receiving water bodies.

"Inadequate wastewater management and protection of drinking water resources result in poor public health, unclean urban living environments, and tainted drinking water supplies, which all affect social and economic development," Cua added.

Source: Xinhua