Nearly 10 million residents of Tianjin, the fourth largest city in China, will have safer water and a healthier environment through a project for which the Asian Development Bank (ADB) December 11 approved a loan of US$130 million.

According to a press release of the ADB, the Tianjin Wastewater Treatment and Water Resources Protection Project has two components that are part of a comprehensive pollution prevention and control program for the Hai River basin.

The first component will construct sewer mains, pumping stations and a treatment plant, which will treat 100,000 cubic meters per day of the city's wastewater.

The second component will create a 34-kilometer closed conduit to protect Tianjin's sole raw water supply from the increasing threat of pollution, and ensure safe, clean water for the residents of this fast-growing megacity.

Tianjin is a municipality with the status of a province, similar to Beijing, Chongqing, and Shanghai.

The total project cost is estimated at US$340.7 million. The ADB loan will come from its ordinary capital resources. Other financiers will be China Development Bank and Tianjin Municipal Government.

(People’s Daily 12/12/2000)