Earth Tech, a Tyco International company, plans to double its
investment in China from the current 1.3 billion yuan in the next
few years to meet rising demand for urban water supply and
wastewater treatment in the world's most populated country.
The California-based company has identified 12 to 13 cities in
north and south China for its future expansion, said Alan Krusi,
president of Earth Tech.
Krusi made the remarks on the sidelines of the inauguration of
the new Tianjin Jieyuan water treatment plant on Tuesday. Jieyuan
is one of the city's three waterworks.
The renovated water factory is China's largest urban water
facility to use dissolved air flotation (DAF) technology. Using the
technology, air is injected into the bottom of a water tank where
tiny bubbles are formed and attach themselves to solids in the
water.
The bubbles, with the solids, float to the surface and are
removed using mechanical scrapers. The process removes algae and
other low-density particles and organisms. It could help reduce use
of chemicals in water treatment by as much as 30 percent.
Earth Tech will "look for partnerships" with water works around
Taihu Lake, which is now suffering a massive algae outbreak, said
Zhao Yingjie, general manager at Earth Tech Beijing office.
Tianjin Water Works Co consulted Earth Tech in 2001 about
renovating its water treatment facilities to better deal with a
similar algae outbreak in Tianjin in the summer of 2000.
The two sides set up a joint venture, in which Earth Tech holds
52 percent, in 2002 to operate the Jieyuan water factory and adopt
DAF as a major processing technology. The contract is for 20
years.
The five-year renovation project cost US$27 million and was
financed by Tyco Asia Investment.
Earth Tech entered China in 1997 and has two other projects in
Qinhuangdao, Hebei Province and Guangzhou, Guangdong Province.
China contributes 10 percent of Earth Tech's global business and
is one of the company's "strategic" markets along with Latin
America and Eastern Europe, Krusi said.
China has allowed foreign investment in water treatment since
the late 1990s and opened the water distribution sector to foreign
investors in 2002.
Veolia Water has been the most active foreign water company in
the country. The French firm has undertaken over 20 projects, five
of which provide full water services, including water production,
network distribution and customer services.
(China Daily June 22, 2007)
