CCTV.com| Overall Value of Underground WWTPs Improved Boosting Upstream-downstream Industries

Recently, the China Economic Semiannual Report by the National Bureau of statistics indicates that investment in national infrastructure grew 7.1 percent in the first half, posting an apparent increase in water conservancy and water affairs. To date, over 28,800 water conservancy projects are under construction, hoping to spur the economy. On July 15, the semiannual report on China's economy has been released. Focusing on the current development of the water industry, CCTV has reported the significant contribution of the underground WWTPs to driving the development of the upstream-downstream industrial chain, improving the comprehensive value of assets and strengthening economic benefits.

In 2022, investment in water conservancy and water affairs will exceed RMB 1.2 trillion.

2022 marks a record year as 22 major water conservancy projects starting construction nationwide in the first half. Among them, the water conservancy investment in the second quarter has reached RMB 337.2 billion, three times that of the first quarter. In an engineering institute in Sichuan, officers are making plans for the subsequent water conservancy projects, which mainly come from the Yangtze River Delta and the central and western regions. It’s also said that the projects planned to start in the second half has increased significantly.

Liu Chengjun, CEO of Beijing Zhiyu Tiancheng Design & Consulting Co., Ltd.

“We only had 28 projects last year comparing with 43 projects in the same period this year, posting a 53 percent growth.”

According to the authorized statistics, in the year of 2022, the investment in water conservancy is expected to exceed RMB 800 billion with about RMB 400 billion in water supply and drainage projects in cities and counties, amounting to RMB 1.2 trillion.

Dr Hou Feng, director of the China Water Environment Group

"We have been focusing on water diversion projects, drinking water safety and urban sewage recycling. In the second half, the whole industry will grow at least 20% to 30% year-on-year, further boost investment by 2 to 3 times.”

Water conservancy projects boost upstream and downstream sectors, benefiting more industries

How will the concentrated construction of domestic water conservancy projects benefit the upstream and downstream industrial chain? Downstream subdivisions such as the water deodorization equipment industry has witnessed an obvious growth.

Chang Yingfu, president of Nishihara Environment ENGINEERING(Shanghai) Co., Ltd.

"We are bidding on projects that worth tens of millions or even hundreds of millions. The amount is about two to three times the same period last year."

According to the Ministry of Water Resources, every 100 billion yuan invested in major water conservancy projects can drive GDP growth by 0.15 percentage points.

Underground WWTP has improved the overall value and shortened the payback period

With larger investment comes longer payback period. What’s the new way to boost investment? In Chengdu, Sichuan Province, a traditional WWTP is being moved to the underground. It is expected that the new WWTP will be put into operation by the end of next year, and the aboveground part will be reconstructed according to the national regulations.

Zhang Jin, President of Sichuan Science City Tianren Environmental Protection Co., Ltd.

"Now we plan to completely move the water plant to the underground. In this way, more land space will be released and we will make it a PPP project."

Zhu Feng, CEO of Sichuan Chengdu Technology City Project Company for Future Water Ecology

“The repayment from land sales is more than RMB 1 billion. Through investment promotion, we can incubate 150 to 200 ecological science and technology enterprises in the second industrial park.”

The construction of Qicai Lake underground WWTP in Guiyang, Guizhou Province has been completed with the aboveground space being built into an ecological park. The sewage recycled can be used to replenish the park and the energy of the water source heat pump to heat the surrounding communities and office facilities.

Yuan Ju, CEO of CWEG’s Guizhou Yunxin Branch

"The environmental and land benefits of the surrounding areas have increased with the land appreciation going up by 20 to 30 percent."

Qu Jiuhui, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering

"The cost of resource recovery and energy saving should be included too. With all the benefits calculated, investors will certainly be interested.”

The National Development and Reform Commission recently issued a document to encourage the promotion of underground WWTP, so as to improve the overall value of assets, and to attract effective investment.

Dr Hou Feng, director of the China Water Environment Group

“The payback period of traditional projects is 25 to 30 years while the underground WWTP model will shorten it to around 15 years.”