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China's Sewage Disposal Offers Big Opportunities for Investors
China needs to build more than 1,000 sewage treatment plants, which will provide a market of nearly 50 billion US dollars for domestic and foreign investors, according to a Chinese environmentalist.
Wen Yibo, also CEO of the Beijing Sound Group, the country's leading environment-related enterprise, said that after being changed from a government burden to a potential profit-maker, sewage treatment is now becoming an "attractive cake".
His company signed contracts with eight Chinese cities today at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to build sewage treatment plants in these cities based on the BOT (build-operate-transfer) pattern.
"Through being authorized to collect sewage treatment fees from those sewage producers, we will be able to make back all our investments in ten years and will make considerable profits in the remaining 15 years," Wen said.
According to the BOT pattern, those who build the sewage plants will be given 25 years of operation rights before the plants are transferred to local governments.
Last year the Sound Group signed a contract with the municipal government of Beijing to build two sewage treatment plants in accordance with the BOT pattern.
"This time the participation of eight other cities shows that this plan has been accepted and supported by more and more people, " Wen said.
His judgment was reinforced by the presence of senior Chinese officials at today's contract-signing ceremony, including Wang Guangying, vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and Qu Geping, one of the founders of China's environmental protection work.
"The bright prospects of the sewage treatment sector has been noticed by many international investors, and some of them have showed their sincerity to join us," Wen said.
According to the figures a senior official from the Ministry of Construction released today at the ceremony, only 31 to 34 percent of urban sewage is being treated at present.
"We plan to increase the figure to at least 60 percent by the end of the year 2010," the official said.
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