World Bank to offer China $250 million new project loan

Xinhua Beijing, June 3 (reporter Rosen Anber) The World Bank's Board of Directors 3rd approved to provide China with a total of 250 million U.S. dollars of three new project loans to support Jiangsu to improve water supply and sewage treatment, xining to strengthen flood prevention work and Guangdong to improve the quality and relevance of technical education.　　According to the bank, the bank's 130 million-dollar-supported water and sewerage project in Jiangsu Province aims to improve the living standards of urban dwellers through the establishment of sound water and sewerage systems. The project will support the interconnection of the central water supply system with the small town water supply systems around the city to enhance service efficiency, improve the quality and reliability of water supply in small towns, and finance new intake facilities, sewage treatment plants, water pipelines, pressurized pumping stations and water distribution networks.　　At the same time supporting the construction of several major cities in Jiangsu province and small towns sewage treatment plants and ancillary sewage pipelines.　　The bank's 100 million-dollar-supported project on flood control and watershed management in Xining City will help Xining city in Qinghai province to improve its flood control capacity, increase the current sewage collection directly into rivers and cause water pollution, and strengthen soil and water conservation in 17 small watersheds. The project will finance infrastructure such as embankments, embankment roads, water level control structures and sewage and rainwater collection pipelines.　　The project will adopt a participatory approach to watershed management and mobilize local communities to participate in the design and implementation of project activities. In addition, the bank's 20 million dollar loan-supported vocational and technical education and training program will focus on supporting Guangdong province to help increase employment opportunities for young people and migrant workers by improving the quality and relevance of vocational and technical education training.　　The experience gained from the project will be shared with other schools in Guangdong province and will be used as a guide for furthering school reform and policy development. Dollar, director of the China Bureau of the World Bank, said the projects were a showcase of the bank's innovative approach to helping China deal with environmental and social issues. These methods are likely to be replicated and thus have a significant impact on the whole country.