The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a technical assistance (TA) grant of US$800,000 to prepare a wastewater management and pollution control project in the central Chinese province of Henan.

The TA will assess the feasibility of seven projects of the Henan provincial government's plan to address water pollution issues in the Hai River basin, the Manila-based ADB said Tuesday in a statement.

The projects cover wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal in four municipalities within the Hai River basin, including Anyang, Puyang, and Xinxiang among others.

This will be a continuation of ADB's contribution to reducing water pollution in the lower reaches of the Hai River in Tianjin and Hebei Province.

The TA, beginning in August 2004, will also draw up selection criteria for similar projects in the Huai and Yellow river basins in Henan, and prepare a list of projects for possible ADB financing.

"The projects will help improve the quality of life for the urban poor by reducing the incidence of waterborne diseases, safeguarding the quality of drinking water, and improving wastewater services," says In-Ho Keum, an ADB Senior Project Specialist/Engineer.

The Henan provincial government has formulated plans for both the Hai and Huai river basins, requiring all municipalities to have wastewater treatment plants by 2005.

Counties are required to have similar plants by 2007. The plans also require the establishment of wastewater companies and the adoption of wastewater tariffs before building treatment plants.  

Henan covers the upper parts of the Hai and Huai river basins, and the lower part of the Yellow River Basin. Pollution control as part of water resource management is a top priority in the Chinese Government's Tenth National Five-Year Plan.

(Xinhua News Agency April 7, 2004)