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MIGA Guarantees Desalination Plant Bringing Fresh Water to Hebei

chinagate.cn, December 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the political risk insurance and credit enhancement arm of the World Bank Group, announced its support to a seawater desalination plant in China's New Bohai Development Zone of Hebei Province. In an area suffering from water scarcity, the project will provide up to 50,000 cubic meters of water a day in its first phase to contribute to the continued economic development of the zone.

MIGA has issued $9.9 million in guarantees to Aqualyng Global Pte., Ltd. for its investment in the construction and operation of the plant. Use of seawater for industrial purposes is a nascent industry in China and the government is promoting the technology to address the serious water-supply issues.

Moreover, in order to reduce the reliance on local-government finances and diversify funding sources for the country's massive infrastructure investments, the central government is encouraging private domestic and foreign investment to support public private partnership (PPP) projects, including in the water supply and wastewater treatment sector.

"China's chronic water shortage places the country well below the average freshwater resources per capita—at 28 percent," said MIGA Executive Vice President and CEO Keiko Honda. She continued, "With the country's rapid urbanization and industrialization, China is smartly looking at many sources of capital for infrastructure investment—and MIGA is pleased to play a role."

Beyond significantly boosting water supply, the investment will also generate other benefits such as technology transfer, job creation, and tax revenues.

This is the second of Aqualyng's desalination projects that MIGA has supported in China. In 2010, MIGA issued a guarantee to Aqualyng's plant in the Caofeidian Industrial Zone also in Hebei Province.

"As we continue to grow internationally, we speak from experience when we say that MIGA's support and partnership has been absolutely pivotal to our decision to develop this new plant," said Sunil Ghorawat, CEO of Aqualyng.