ADB funds Chinese wastewater reuse project

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has provided a $240m private sector loan package to Beijing Enterprises Water Group (BEWG) to improve the quality of wastewater management and reuse in China.

The loan will be used to upgrade wastewater treatment plants to treat an additional 600 million tonnes of wastewater annually, by 2019.

ADB private sector operations department principal investment specialist Hisaka Kimura said that improving wastewater treatment quality is the effective response to challenges faced by the country.

"With adequate technologies, wastewater can be treated to meet specific needs and purposes such as industry use, including machine cooling, cleansing, and boiler operation. Higher-quality freshwater can be freed up for end uses such as drinking and cooking," Kimura added.

The Bank’s $240m private sector loan package consists of a direct loan of $120m for BEWG and a complementary loan of $120m, funded by commercial banks.

In addition, technical assistance of $500,000 is funded from the Climate Change Fund established by ADB, and the Multi-Donor Trust Fund under the Water Financing Partnership Facility, to promote the reuse of wastewater in cities across China.

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Image: A $240m private sector loan package should help People’s Republic of China improve the quality of wastewater management and reuse. Photo: courtesy of Asian Development Bank.