ADB to aid clean-up of China's Songhua river
Friday, 12 October 2007
MANILA, Oct 11 (AFP): The Asian Development Bank will aid China's clean up of the Songhua river basin, where a blast in a chemical plant killed eight people and spilled toxic chemicals into the water two years ago, the Manila-based lender said today.
A 1.107 million-dollar ADB grant will help Beijing design a project that aims to improve pollution control in a key area of the country's northeastern industrial belt, a bank statement said.
Songhua is China's third largest river. The catchment covers mainly Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, best known for their industries and agriculture.
"Cities in the north and west and around the Songhua River basin are experiencing widespread pollution due to the discharge of untreated wastewater and improper management of solid waste," said Sangay Penjor, principal financial analysis specialist of ADB's East Asia Department.
"While significant progress has been made in building urban infrastructure over the past two decades, such infrastructure tends to be concentrated in the more highly developed eastern and southern coastal plains."
A chemical plant blast spilled around 100 tonnes of the carcinogens benzene and nitrobenzene poured into the Songhua in November 2005, killing eight people and injuring 60 others.
Water supplies for millions of people living along the Songhua were suspended for days.
A 1.107 million-dollar ADB grant will help Beijing design a project that aims to improve pollution control in a key area of the country's northeastern industrial belt, a bank statement said.
Songhua is China's third largest river. The catchment covers mainly Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, best known for their industries and agriculture.
"Cities in the north and west and around the Songhua River basin are experiencing widespread pollution due to the discharge of untreated wastewater and improper management of solid waste," said Sangay Penjor, principal financial analysis specialist of ADB's East Asia Department.
"While significant progress has been made in building urban infrastructure over the past two decades, such infrastructure tends to be concentrated in the more highly developed eastern and southern coastal plains."
A chemical plant blast spilled around 100 tonnes of the carcinogens benzene and nitrobenzene poured into the Songhua in November 2005, killing eight people and injuring 60 others.
Water supplies for millions of people living along the Songhua were suspended for days.