ADB to fund water and waste water service upgrades in west China

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed an agreement on a 300 million U.S. Dollars equivalent loan facility with Beijing Capital Co. Ltd. on Thursday to support water and wastewater service upgrades in the western region of China.

The assistance includes a dual currency dollar-yuan loan equivalent to 150 million dollars from ADB's ordinary resources, and a complementary loan of the same amount raised from participating banks, with ADB acting as lender of record, according to the ADB.

The project will build, expand, and rehabilitate water and wastewater treatment facilities across a number of provinces, with Beijing Capital tailoring its technologies to suit the size and needs of the different target communities, said the ADB.

"The project will help provide reliable and efficient access to water and wastewater treatment in smaller communities in the west," said Hisaka Kimura, East Asia Unit head of ADB private sector operations department.

Liu Yongzheng, General Manager of Beijing Capital, said the project will also encourage future public-private partnerships that can help address regional imbalances in infrastructure.

According to the ADB, it plans to invest up to 25 billion dollars in water and wastewater service from 2010 to 2020. Endi