The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Monday that it has approved a US$200 million loan to China to reduce pollution and improve clean water supply from the country's third largest river basin, the Songhua River Basin (SRB).

The loan will cover over half the total estimated project cost of 396.3 million dollars, the Manila-based bank said in a press release. The remainder will be funded through water and wastewater tariffs, domestic loans from China's banks, state-issued bonds, and equity capital from the local governments involved.

The project will improve the health and quality of life for about 9.4 million urban residents in the northeastern provinces of Heilongjiang and Jilin along the basin, by improving the supply of potable water, increasing wastewater treatment coverage, and enhancing solid waste management, ADB said.

The project will build infrastructure and provide training to improve and expand water supply, wastewater treatment, and solid waste management. They will address looming water shortages by recycling wastewater, and reducing wastage.

"The project will make a significant contribution to the control of water pollution in the SRB and will help solve current water shortage problems in project cities, while meeting the future demand for good quality treated water," said Sangay Penjor, a specialist with ADB's Operations Evaluation Department.

(Xinhua News Agency December 22, 2008)