The Songhua River will benefit from a pollution control technical assistance project worth one million US dollars, according to an Asia Development Bank (ADB) official in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

 

Shibuichi, ADB chief representative in China, said that water resource management and environmental management are crucial to promoting successful economic development in China.

 

"The two issues are directly linked to successful, sustainable economic development and highly relevant to China's northeast provinces," he said.

 

"Over the past five years, Songhua River water management has become a long-term focus for ADB assistance in China," the official said.

 

The ADB has supported projects on flood damage rehabilitation, flood management, wetland protection, and water supply in Harbin. The organization has also sponsored a water supply and sewerage development project in northeast China's Jilin Province, at the upper reaches of the Songhua River.

 

"The ADB will assist China with a thorough study of the pollution situation," Shibuichi said.

 

The one million dollar technical assistance project will focus on government water quality and pollution control management priorities for the Songhua River.

 

"The recent pollution problems further underscore the importance of implementing the recommendations in the technical assistance study," Shibuichi said.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 18, 2006)