Innovating water and sanitation services in China’s rural areas

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a loan to China for Euro 89.10 million (US$100 million equivalent) to improve rural water supply and sanitation services in Sichuan Province through a public-private partnership.

“This project will support improved water supply and sanitation services for more than 200,000 residents in rural areas in Sichuan,” said Martin Raiser, World Bank Country Director for China. “It will contribute to domestic and global public goods by protecting the environment through reduced discharge of untreated wastewater into the tributaries of the Yangtze River. The project also promotes a more transparent service and financing model through a public-private-partnership, which is performance-based and focuses on improved service delivery to customers. This is a new solution in rural areas, with potential demonstration effects in other parts of China and beyond.”

Access to water supply and sanitation services remains a challenge in many rural areas in China. In the project area, only 73 percent of rural residents have access to piped water supply; and only 15 percent of rural domestic sewage is collected and properly treated. Local governments in these areas often lack the financial means as well as the technical and managerial capacity for administering and delivering water and sanitation services. Well-designed public-private partnerships are a way to improve such service delivery in China while addressing fiscal challenges.

The Sichuan Water Supply and Sanitation Public-Private Partnership Project will be implemented in selected peri-urban and rural areas of Jingyang District of Deyang City in Sichuan Province. The project will establish a modern water supply and sanitation utility through a 25-year performance-based investment and management contract, which will be signed between the Jingyang District and an experienced operator.

The project will finance water supply and sanitation infrastructure, including water treatment plants and pipelines, sewer networks and wastewater treatment plants, and household service connections. Nearly 235,000 residents are expected to benefit from these improvements.

Original source: World Bank
Published on 03 March 2020