ADB to provide loans for wastewater treatment project in China

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is providing equity and loans of up to 146.6 million U.S. dollars to help improve water supply and waste water treatment at the polluted Songhua River Basin in northeast China, according to the ADB Tuesday.

The equity and loans will be offered to Tongfang (Harbin) Water Engineering (TWE), an affiliate of publicly listed environmental technology firm, Tsinghua Tongfang Co. Ltd. (TTC), which will build, rehabilitate, and privatize water supply and treatment plants in the basin, which is home to 62 million people.

Massive rural-urban migration in China over the past 30 years, the largest and most rapid in history, has put immense strain on public services in towns and cities. The discharge of untreated wastewater into rivers has caused widespread contamination, resulting in a growing shortage of safe drinking water. The Songhua River Basin, the third largest river basin in China, is one of the country's most polluted.

The Chinese government is targeting a clean-up of the basin. A Songhua River Basin Water Pollution Prevention and Control Master Plan has been drawn up, supported since 2005 by ADB through technical assistance and loans totaling around 400 million U.S. dollars.

"Treating more wastewater and improving the supply of potable water will reduce pollution in the urban environment around the Songhua River Basin, and improve the health and quality of life for millions of residents," said Philip Erquiaga, Director General of ADB's Private Sector Operations Department.

The project will cost 3.5 billion yuan (512.6 million U.S. dollars) from 2009 to 2011, partly financed by ADB, to treat an additional 2 million tons of wastewater a day. Private investors and local commercial banks are expected to provide the remainder of the funding needs.

Source: Xinhua