The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Tuesday it will provide
a US$100 million loan to help improve sewage disposal and reduce
river pollution around a highly polluted river basin in central
China's Henan Province.
The project, which is expected to be completed by the end of
2010 will assist 15 cities in formulating a practical approach to
developing urban environment protection facilities, the bank said
in a statement.
The project will build facilities for wastewater collection and
treatment and delivery of fresh water in 15 cities around the Haihe
River basin, and promote institutional and financial reforms.
The sewage disposal and river pollution treatment projects will
benefit an urban population totaling 1.5 million, the source said,
adding that about 170,000 of whom are categorized as living under
the poverty line of 1,348 yuan (US$166) per capita annually.
In-Ho Keum, a Project Administration Unit Head in ADB's East and
Central Asia Department, said: "The project will reduce the
exposure of urban communities to untreated water and public health
dangers."
The Haihe River basin, part of which lies in the northern part
of Henan, is one of the three most polluted river systems in China,
polluted by industrial wastewater.
Such pollution adversely affects the local environment and has
an impact on public health.
The provision of environmental infrastructural facilities and
services has failed to keep up with the region's rapidly growing
economy. Despite water shortages, the rate of wastewater treatments
is a low 34 percent.
To help meet these challenges, the project will build
facilities, such as sewers, pump stations and treatment centers, to
increase collection and treatment of urban waste water to more than
70%.
The water supply work including distribution pipelines and water
treatment plants will reduce reliance on groundwater extraction
from shallow wells and provide water supplies of adequate quantity
and quality to 98% of urban residents in the cities.
The total project cost is about US$200 million, half of which
will be met by ADB financing. The other half will come from local
bank support.
(Xinhua News Agency December 14, 2005)