Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Industrial Wastewater and Sludge Treatment Project

In the People's Republic of China (PRC), small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in economic development, as they are key drivers of income and employment growth. On the other hand, SMEs are becoming major polluters, and are associated with severe environmental impact in some industrial areas. Industrial wastewater is difficult to treat due to high pollutant concentration, complex chemical composition, and high variance in water quantity and quality. Most SMEs do not have sufficient treatment capability and tend to dump untreated wastewater into waterways or sewers at volumes that often exceed the capacity of municipal wastewater treatment facilities. An additional challenge arises from sludge, which has serious impact on soil and groundwater quality.The proposed project will support CT Environmental Group Limited (CTEG) to build, own, and operate a series of specialized SME industrial wastewater and sludge treatment plants in the designated areas determined by the local governments. CTEG's facilities will target SMEs in highly polluting industrial sectors, such as textile, paper, chemical, and food processing. Treated wastewater will be discharged according to national environmental standards or supplied to industry for reuse in manufacturing.