Land acquisitions and resettlement. Most of the compensation rates for resettlement were higher than those in the resettlement plans. However, according to the data provided by each municipal sewerage company (MSC), the total resettlement costs for permanent land acquisition, temporary land use, building demolition, and associated items on the ground were lower than those estimated in the resettlement plan. The huge reduction in the resettlement costs was the result of waivers or significant reduction of land taxes or administration fees, large-scale reduction of temporary land use, and avoidance of house demolition through the use of the pipe-jacking construction methods rather than open-cut sewer construction. Coordination among municipal governments to increase the compensation rate but reduce the overall resettlement cost is a good lesson learned.
Hebei Province Wastewater Management Project