The Chinese government has announced a RMB13 bn investment programme to counter water shortages. As much of the nation's wastewater remains untreated, foreign companies may enter this potentially lucrative sector.
Over the next three years, Beijing plans to invest RMB13 bn in
wastewater treatment and solar power projects, predominantly in rural
areas, officials from China's Ministry of Water Resources and the
Beijing Municipality announced. The capital city is facing a water
shortage, and is pledging several billion RMB to solve the crisis. 135
water-saving projects are planned over the next five years to ensure Beijing's fresh water supply.
One of the newest projects is a treatment facility built by Germany's
Siemens Water Technologies, which provides 100,000 cubic metres of
water daily. Siemens also signed an agreement with the city of Wuxi,
Jiangsu province, to improve the water quality of Taihu Lake. Some 11
other provinces have announced plans to build 42 new wastewater plants.
France's Suez Environnement will start a drinking water project in
Chongqing, and an industrial water and wasterwater project in
Changshou. U.S.-based ITT has won a contract for a cooling tower,
wastewater treatment and the heating and air conditioning systems for LDK Solar in Xinyu.
Statistics show 400 Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai,
"have inadequate water supplies," California-based Cleantech Group
says. 300 major Chinese cities reportedly lack wastewater facilities.
The need of water treatment is illustrated in an incident of last week,
in which 200 people became sick after drinking contaminated water in
the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The water was polluted by a
metallurgical company, state media reports.
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