Enhanced treatment for Tianjin

摘要

China long ago embraced the private sector, not least in the provision of water and wastewater services. Nevertheless, the examples of standalone build-operate-transfer projects in the industry remain as rare in China as elsewhere among emerging economies. One of the latest manifestations of this form of procurement is now taking shape in the coastal city of Tianjin, 140km south-east of the capital Beijing. With work already begun on clearing a site, construction is due to start this September at the Jie Yuan water treatment works, to run until April 2005. US-based Earth Tech, the leader of a joint venture, is already operating the existing inadequate treatment unit while it leads construction to raise its capacity to 500,000m~3/day. When work ends, the company, which is also responsible for financing construction, will operate old and new facilities for the remaining 17 years.