The World Bank's Board of
Executive Directors approved on Thursday a US$172 million loan to
China to help finance a Hunan
Urban Development Project through support for a carefully selected
set of priority investments to address specific regional needs in a
sustainable manner.
Urbanization and urban development are central themes in China's
overall development strategy.? The Government is promoting
regional cluster development as one urbanization model, with a view
to benefiting from the efficiencies that can be gained through
economic integration of multiple urban areas. National and local
governments play an important role in cluster development by
creating and supporting the necessary policy and planning framework
for the region/cluster, providing infrastructure to assist physical
integration, and supporting improvements to livability, thus
increasing the overall competitiveness of the region and thereby
attracting investments and facilitating economic growth.?
Hunan Province, in south-central China, is at the median of
Chinese provinces in most economic criteria with GDP per capita
ranking seventeenth, 22 percent below national average. Both the
national and Hunan Province governments attach high priority to the
economic development of the CZT Region as one of the examples of
cluster based urban development in China.? Development of the
CZT Region is intended to be the basis upon which Hunan Province
will transform from a largely agricultural province into a more
balanced economy, with growth in tertiary sectors and high
technology development.? The CZT Region has a total population
of 12.1 million, of whom 3 million live in the three core city
areas, and is the only significant urban agglomeration in the
province.? Changsha, Zhuzhou and Xiangtan are physically
linked by the Xiang River, an important tributary of the Yangtze
River.?
A key focus of CZT integration has been the development of the
Xiang River corridor as an economic and recreational resource, the
minimization of the flood risk posed to the region by the Xiang
River, and the provision of environmental and transportation
infrastructure to support regional development.? Significant
investments are required to meet the needs in these areas.?
Further, the capacities of environmental infrastructure sector in
Hunan Province need to be strengthened to improve efficiency and
sustainability, inter alia through corporatization, full-cost
recovery, and limited private participation.?
The approved project will help Hunan Province address some of
these needs through financing the following five components:
·?The Corridor component, to strengthen flood protection
and develop a recreational (scenic) road along the embankment, in
four selected sections of the three municipalities.?
·?The Changsha Wastewater component, to increase the
percentage of sewage collected and treated in? the
municipality, and to develop the Changsha Municipal Drainage
Company? into an autonomous public utility operating on
commercial principles.
·?The Zhuzhou Clean Coal component, to reduce air pollution
in the CZT Region through the production and sale of low sulphur
coal.
·?Zhaoshan Scenic Area component, to improve livability in
the CZT Region through the sustainable redevelopment of the
Zhaoshan Scenic Area.
·?Technical Assistance for Implementation and Institutional
Development component, to assist in project implementation, and to
build capacity in the CZT Economic Integration Office and other
project agencies.
"Hunan Provincial Government, which? is strongly committed
to the concept, has provided leadership on the CZT integration, and
there is strong support for the concept amongst the officials of
the three municipalities and the province, which will enable the
cities to develop complementary economic roles, with each city
building on its advantages", said the World Bank task manager, Raja
Iyer.?
"The Bank can provide international experience and support in
the crucial institutional development and capacity building.
Further, the Bank will provide Hunan Province the benefit of its
extensive global and China experience in urban development, flood
protection, water pollution control, traffic management, cultural
heritage, air quality improvement, institutional development, and
financial management", he said.
(China.org.cn September 20, 2004)