Songhua River Basin Water Pollution Control and Management Project

Clear cost-recovery mechanism. National regulations on water and wastewater tariffs formulated and promulgated with ADB TA (technical assistance) require full cost recovery; all towns and cities nationwide must implement the regulations. Some project cities and counties have not yet reached full cost recovery, but they are making progress in a phased manner. Effective and sustained policy dialogue on cost recovery and tariff reforms is essential, and must be undertaken first nationally, to support and facilitate tariff reform in towns and cities. ADB's successful policy dialogue with the government on cost recovery and tariff reforms, and TA to prepare national water and wastewater tariff regulations, helped establish an enabling environment for private sector participation. This helped prepare market conditions for the Longjiang Environmental Protection Share Company and introduce the company for the Private Sector Operations Department-financed project, which contributed to important SRB pollution control objectives.