Waste water treatment plant: Jotne in China

China is a huge and very interesting market, which is facing major challenges in the area of water and waste water treatment, as well as other environmental issues. The project which is closest to realisation is a drinking water treatment plan in Poyang, in the province of Jiangxi. This province is situated in southeast China and has around 45 million inhabitants. Poyang is a small town of some 160,000 inhabitants. The area has a relatively poor infrastructure, and investments in improvements are planned.

Jiangxi province is also an interesting tourist destination. It has a rich cultural history and beautiful countryside. Poyang lake is China's largest freshwater lake and wetland area, with several smaller lakes surrounding it. This area is on the WWF's list of important biodiversity conservation areas. It is also the source of the water that will feed the water treatment plant which Jotne is offering in Poyang.

The other project which Jotne Prosjekt is looking into is located in Luonan, in Shanxi province in northern China. This province borders Inner Mongolia and its high altitude gives it a climate similar to that of Norway. There are plans to build a sewage treatment plant and a district heating plant in Luonan, which lies not far from Xian, where China's famous terracotta army was discovered. The life-size terracotta warriors were buried near the grave of the Emperor Qin, who unified China in around 250 BC. The large-scale tourist traffic in this area has prompted the Chinese authorities to improve its infrastructure.

The projects which Jotne are involved in will all have a strong link to Norway in the form of our product deliveries as well as funding by a Norwegian bank or Eksportfinans (Norwegian Export Credit Agency). China is developing rapidly and has a continuing need to improve its infrastructure outside the main cities. The large number of projects which have already been initiated has led to a shortage of domestic investment funds and Norwegian financing will make it easier to start up more projects.

In the autumn of 2006 Jotne signed three letters-of-intent, and our expectation is that one or more of these will culminate in a final contract within the next 3-6 months. A network of agents are also engaged in uncovering potential projects based on Jotne's technology, and we therefore expect new opportunities to be added to the list in the time ahead.

-Jotne's focus on China has a long-term perspective, and it will take time before the projects materialise. Nevertheless, we believe we are very close to a realisation, and that moving forward we will acquire a portfolio of ongoing projects,- says Moe.