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ADB partners with 18 banks to help
Chinese cities
The Asian Development Bank is partnering with 18 banks
to help China Water Affairs Group Limited (CWA) to
increase WORLD access and NEWS improve water efficiency in small-
and medium-sized cities in the People’s Republic of China
(PRC).
The US$100 million B loan is part of ADB’s US$200 million
financing package to the project, which also includes
an ADB-financed loan of US$100 million. Through the B
loan structure, the participating banks share with ADB the
benefit of ADB’s preferred creditor status.
Under the project, CWA will turn around multiple
water utilities formerly owned by municipal governments,
rehabilitating distribution pipelines, installing meters for all
customers, instilling commercial management practices,
and improving access to safe water. The loan is expected
to benefit five million customers, including poor households,
who currently have limited access to safe drinking water.
The PRC government is actively promoting publicprivate
partnership for water supply chain but around 90%
New Sewerage Rules under WSIA
enforced on 1st July 2013
Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Air Negara (SPAN) has
recently announced that the Water Services Industry
(Planning, Design and Construction of Sewerage System
and Septic Tank) Rules 2013 has been enforced from 1st
July 2013. The rules issued pursuant to Sections 45 and 180
of the Water Services Industry Act 2006 (WSIA) set out the
The World Bank estimates in a new report that environmental
degradation is costing India INR 3.75 trillion
(US$80 billion) per year, or 5.7% of GDP. Of this total,
outdoor air pollution has been accounted at INR 1.1
trillion followed by the cost of indoor air pollution at INR
0.9 trillion, croplands degradation cost at INR 0.7 trillion,
inadequate water supply and sanitation cost at around at
INR 0.5 trillion, pastures degradation cost at INR 0.4 trillion,
requirements for securing approval for sewerage systems
and septic tanks. All applications submitted after this
date will also be subject to payment of the appropriate
processing fee to the Sewerage Certifying Agency. More
information can be obtained by visiting SPAN’s website at
www.span.gov.my.
Pollution costs US$80 billion a year in
India
Table 1: Estimated Total Annual Household Cost of Averting Expenditures
Cost of bottled water consumption
Cost of household boiling drinking water
Cost of household filtering drinking water
Total annual cost
Source: Staff estimates.
of municipal distribution networks are still owned by local
governments.
“Water distribution is a new frontier for private sector
participation in Asia. A prime objective of B loan is to share
our development mission with our partner banks. We are
pleased to work together with 18 banks for enhancing
access to cleaner piped water in smaller cities,“ said Hisaka
Kimura, Principal Investment Specialist in ADB’s Private
Sector Operations Department.
The fund is provided by the Royal Bank of Scotland
plc, Korea Development Bank, Chang Hwa Commercial
Bank, Chinatrust Commercial Bank, First Commercial Bank,
Taiwan Cooperative Bank, KEB Asia Finance, Kookmin Bank
Hong Kong, Woori Global Markets Asia, Hang Seng Bank,
Mega International Commercial Bank, Taiwan Business
Bank, Bank SinoPac, Industrial and Commercial Bank of
China (Asia), Land Bank of Taiwan, Sunny Bank, Taichung
Commercial Bank, The Bank of East Asia, Limited, and ADB
as the lender of record.
and forest degradation cost at INR 0.1 trillion.
According to the report, in the presence of perceived
health risks, individuals often take measures to avoid
them. These are usually considered as a cost of the health
risks of environmental burden. If consumers perceive
that the municipal water supply or the other sources of
water supply they rely on are unsafe, they are likely to
purchase bottled water for drinking purposes, or boil
Total Annual Cost
(Billion Rs.)
Urban
20
4
14
38
Rural
7
3
7
17
their water, or install water
purification filters. The
estimated costs of these
options are given in Table
1. The assumed hypothetical
level of expenditure
here is zero (no avertive expenses
would be incurred
if the water supplied was
safe). The total amount of
avertive expenditures for
India amount to about INR
55 Bn. a year.
WaterMalaysia 33