The World Bank Board of Executive Directors Tuesday approved a new loan of US$100 million to the People's Republic of China to support the Nanning Urban Environment Project.

The Nanning Urban Environment Project will assist Nanning Municipality in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to stop the deterioration of surface water quality in selected urban centers. Urban wastewater and non-point sources have been identified as the principle sources of pollution in this area.

The project, with a total investment of about US$254 million, will address this problem by financing:

(i) expansion of treatment capacity for the Jiangnan Wastewater Treatment Plant in the central urban districts, as well as the development of new wastewater collection and treatment facilities in the five county-seat towns of Wuming, Binyang, Hengxian, Mashan and Shanglin Counties;

(ii) environment rehabilitation of river courses along the Fenghuang, Liangqing and Lengtang Rivers in the central urban districts;

(iii) technical assistance to establish an integrated mini river basin management system for a section of the Yongjiang River basin in Nanning with provisions to strengthen project management capability.

"An innovative feature of the project is the integrated river basin management approach." said Takuya Kamata, World Bank Senior Financial Analyst and manager of the project. According to Kamata, this approach aims to coordinate development, management, and conservation of water, land, and related resources across sectors within a river basin in order to maximize the economic and social benefits in an equitable manner while preserving ecosystems. The project is a follow-up on the Guangxi Urban Environment Project, which financed development of wastewater management systems and river rehabilitation in Nanning.

(China Development Gateway June 2, 2010)