The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will lend US$100 million for a project to clean up the environment of Nanjing city and manage and protect the city's water resources.

The project, part of a broader water resource initiative being carried out by the Chinese authorities for the Qinhuai River and Nanjing City, as well as the Yangtze River Basin, will reduce water pollution, help prevent flooding, and improve the urban environment, said the ADB's China office on Thursday.

The project will tackle sewerage and water replenishment, waste water treatment, stormwater drainage, sludge treatment and disposal, and institutional development.

"All aspects of the project will contribute significantly toward improving water quality in the Qinhuai River, which empties into the Yangtze," said Sangay Penjor, an ADB Principal Financial Analysis Specialist. "Living conditions and public health standards for about 2.7 million city residents will improve as a result of the reduced pollution and flooding."

Rapid economic growth over the last two decades has put pressure on Nanjing's environment and city infrastructure. The Qinhuai River that flows through this city of 4.5 million residents has suffered greatly from wastewater discharge.

ADB said the project will contribute to the city's 2010 target of treating 85 percent of wastewater.

The project will also create at least 450 full-time permanent jobs with the operators of the wastewater facilities and 6,000 person years of labor during the five years of construction, according to the ADB.

The bank said the Nanjing municipal government and China Development Bank will contribute approximately US$81 million and US$55 million, respectively, toward the total project cost of US$236 million.

The Nanjing municipal government is the executing agency for the project, which is due for completion at the end of 2011.

(Xinhua News Agency December 22, 2006)