Reuters
September 12, 2006

‘China, if it is going to remedy pollution, has to put in wastewater treatment. But that process constitutes an opportunity, because it can leapfrog to the latest technology,’ said Paul Reiter, executive director of the International Water Association.

Beijing: China’s bid to tackle widespread pollution and a shortage of water treatment facilities could make it a leader in waste management, experts said on Tuesday. But its rivers and lakes may need years to recover from chronic misuse, they said. … Beijing plans to spend more than 330 billion yuan ($41.5 billion) by 2010 to provide sewage treatment plants to all cities. If it invests in next-generation plants that effectively reprocess water, it could tackle waste and water scarcity while boosting its own economy. “China, if it is going to remedy pollution, has to put in wastewater treatment. But that process constitutes an opportunity, because it can leapfrog to the latest technology,” Paul Reiter, Executive Director of the International Water Association, told Reuters at a conference his group organised. “It would be good for the environment, but its companies could also manufacture and market these systems.”