China to improve rural water supply with $100m from World Bank

The World Bank has granted China a $100m loan to its improve the rural water supply and sanitation facilities in the Sichuan Province.

The Sichuan Water Supply and Sanitation Public Private Partnership Project aims to deliver a modern water supply and sanitation utility through a 25-year performance-based investment and management contract.

It is claimed to be the first World Bank-financed public private partnership project in the water sector in China.

World Bank Country Director for China Martin Raiser said: “This project will support improved water supply and sanitation services for more than 200,000 residents in rural areas in Sichuan. It will contribute to domestic and global public goods by protecting the environment through reduced discharge of untreated wastewater into the tributaries of the Yangtze River.

“The project also promotes a more transparent service and financing model through a public-private-partnership, which is performance-based and focuses on improved service delivery to customers. This is a new solution in rural areas, with potential demonstration effects in other parts of China and beyond.”

As part of the project, a contract will be signed between the Jingyang District and an experienced operator.

The operator will be selected through a competitive bidding process and as per the international best practices.

To ensure that the new utility provides quality services, it will be regularly evaluated through customer satisfaction surveys and other feedback programmes.

The local government will be given technical assistance to effectively regulate the operator.

The water supply and sanitation infrastructure includes water treatment plants and pipelines, sewer networks and wastewater treatment plants, and household service connections.

The Sichuan Water Supply and Sanitation Public Private Partnership Project is expected to benefit around 235,000 residents in the peri-urban and rural areas of Jingyang District of Deyang City in Sichuan Province.