6 November 2012: The World Bank has reported on two projects that were supported jointly with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and helped improve access to safe and reliable water for 2.5 million people in Ningbo City and increase wastewater treatment from 10% to 65.4% for one million people in Cixi City, in China.

The projects aim to improve the quality of life and restore wetlands in Hangzhou Bay, Zhejiang Province, by addressing frequent water shortages and heavy pollution loads associated with rapid economic growth. Both projects invest in water supply and treatment infrastructure, and provide technical assistance on water pricing, planning and service regulation to improve operational management by the local water supply and sewage companies.

According to the World Bank, the projects’ successes include: increasing the water treatment capacity of Ningbo City to provide 90% of the population with high quality water, compared with 23% before the project; and installing two wastewater treatment plants in Cixi City with capacity to cover 80% of urban districts, 100% of industrial discharge and 60% of rural townships. The projects also used a new approach, using constructed wetlands to facilitate wastewater treatment at both water treatment facilities. In addition, 330 hectares of wetlands were restored in Cixi City. [World Bank Press Release]