Han River Urban Environment Improvement Project

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The Han River Urban Environment Improvement Project for China development objective is to reduce urban pollution generated from wastewater and solid waste through proper collection, treatment and disposal in selected second-tier cities, mainly located in the Han River area of Hubei. This will be achieved by undertaking high priority investments in selected project cities in wastewater collection and treatment systems and solid waste management systems, as well as institutional reforms and capacity development in the areas of municipal utilities reforms and water pollution control. As its secondary objective, the project is intended to develop well-managed sustainable municipal utilities which can be referred to as models/best practices for other similar projects or programs to be implemented under the Provincial 11th Five-year Plan. The project components are the following: (i) wastewater treatment investment; (ii) solid waste management system investment; (iii) industrial wastewater pollution control; and (iv) institutional development and capacity building. The first component will cover seven cities/counties (Hanchuan, Honghu, Shayang, Tianmen, Xiangfan, Xiaochang and Yunmeng) and include the construction of seven new wastewater collection systems in all seven cities/counties, and the construction of five new wastewater treatment plants in all of the above cities except for Honghu and Xiangfan. The second component will cover seven cities/counties (Danjiangkou, Dawu, Hanchuan, Honghu, Shayang, Xiaochang and Yunmeng) and include the construction of new sanitary landfills and solid waste collection stations, collection fleets and closures of existing dumps. The third component, Hubei Province and the project cities will implement the industrial wastewater pollution control programs with their own funds. The activities are carried out at both provincial and city levels, including (a) provincial level program for installation of on-line monitoring (OLM) data receiving platforms at municipal Environmental Protection Bureaus (EPBs) and installation of OLM facilities under local EPB supervision at major pollution sources; and (b) the implementation of specific industrial wastewater pollution control action plans for major polluting enterprises. This component also includes the development of the Han River Water Modeling System, including a study on non-point source (NPS) pollution. The fourth component will include the following activities: (i) technical assistance (TA) for design review advisory services and construction supervision, including provision of an individual procurement consultant; (ii) TA for external monitoring of the Environmental Management Plans and Resettlement Action Plans; and (iii) TA for institutional development (ID) in financial, technical, operational and human resources management.