The State Development Bank of China has earmarked a huge amount
loan to help Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang
Province, deal with water pollution, the provincial information
center said Tuesday. The first 150 million yuan (nearly US$19
million) of the emergency loan is in place and the 490 million yuan
(over US$61 million) short-term loan is expected to come in a week,
according to the center.
The loan will be used in rebuilding water sources and improving
water processing in urban and rural areas along the recently
polluted Songhua River.
The pollution was caused by the blast of an upriver chemical
plant in Jilin Province last month, which led to the leakage of 100
tons of benzene-like compounds into the Songhua River.
Harbin, with Songhua as its main water source, was forced to
shut down its tap water supplies for four days. Currently, the
water supply has resumed and the water quality has reached the
national standard.
The pollution slick is still moving downward slowly, threatening
other riverine populations that depend on the Songhua for drinking
water.
Local governments along the river route have launched emergency
measures to ensure a safe water supply and banned use of the toxic
water.
China's cabinet has approved the resignation of Xie Zhenhua,
director of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) over the toxic
spill.
Yu Li, general manager of Jilin PetroChemical Co., owned by
China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), was also
sacked for the blast of the company's chemical plant on November
13, which entailed huge economic loses.
Jilin Province has so far injected over 70 million yuan (nearly
US$9 million) in treating the polluted Songhua River, according to
the provincial government.
The pollution-control campaign has involved more than 40,000
people and some 9,000 vehicles.
(Xinhua News Agency December 6, 2005)