MANILA, PHILIPPINES (19 October 2023) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $160 million equivalent loan to improve inclusive, green, and sustainable urban–rural public services in Shanxi Province, the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
The Shanxi Low-Carbon and Inclusive Rural Development Project aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants, enhance efficient water management and treatment to address water scarcity, and promote nature-based wetland rehabilitation for carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation. Among other support, the project will use high-efficiency heat pumps and biomass boilers for rural clean heating systems, renovate rural buildings, adopt smart water management solutions, develop a smart wetland and carbon asset management platform, and establish low-carbon and climate resilient facilities for older persons.
“The project will demonstrate innovative approaches for improving public services in the province to strengthen institutional capacity, enhance green, climate-resilient, and inclusive urban–rural facilities, and operate a green and inclusive financing mechanism,” said ADB Project Administration Unit Head Lei Zhang. “Dissemination of knowledge gained from project implementation by ADB will generate benefits for regions in the PRC and other countries with similar natural and socioeconomic conditions.”
Shanxi Province, in central PRC along the Yellow River, faces high carbon-intensive and unbalanced urban and rural public services; climate-change-exacerbated weather events that are increasing in frequency and severity; and worsening environmental degradation—threatening the fragile Yellow River Basin ecological system and impacting vulnerable rural and older populations.
The total project cost is $318.41 million, with $158.41 million in counterpart financing from the government and other sources. It is expected to be completed by 2029.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.
