Vitens-Evides International takes first step on Chinese soil

Shanghai – During Holland Water Week at the World Expo in Shanghai a declaration of intention was signed. Slightly more than 7 million people live in Zhengzhou, the provincial capital of Henan province.
 
The declaration of intention means that a study will be made into the extent to which a partnership would actually be feasible. An important part of this study relates to the optimisation of one of the production locations. This location produces slightly more than 400 million m3 water per year and provides roughly 90% of the city with drinking water. The production location was designed in 1953 and uses water from the Yellow River to produce drinking water. The current purification is inadequate for converting the river water, which is polluted by industrialisation, into drinking water. Just what is needed to improve the purification process technologically will be mapped out over the next few months. Not only will the technology come under scrutiny, but also the financial means that are needed and who could potentially provide them. The form, the contents and the financing of the partnership will be clear before the end of the year. It will also then become clear whether the declaration of intention is going to be converted into a final partnership contract.

There was a great deal of interest in the Dutch consortium Vitens-Evides International during Holland Water Week at the Shanghai Expo. Slightly more than 50 Chinese drinking water companies came to make the company’s acquaintance. The two biggest, most modern drinking water companies are also interested in Vitens Evides International’s working model, by themselves entering into Water Operator Partnerships with other water companies in China in the role of a mentor and sharing their expertise. In addition to this it can be seen that Vitens Evides International’s involvement also gives other parties (such as the Asian Development Bank or the World Bank) grounds for trust, as a result of which they too dare to invest.