Long Beach-based Earth Tech announced
Friday it has broken ground on the Xi Lang wastewater treatment plant for the city of
Guangzhou, China. The $120 million joint venture project of Earth Tech and the Chinese
government is the first Sino-American agreement of its kind.
Guangzhou, with 5 million residents, is a major international trade city in southern
China, about 100 miles from Hong Kong and, according to Earth Tech, a city that faces
severe environmental challenges due to double-digit population growth.
The plant, which is scheduled to open in 2004, will serve one of the city's major
business districts. It is one of the first privately funded municipal wastewater projects
in China . A second phase will open later and double the plant's capacity.
Earth Tech will design, build, finance and operate the facility under a 20-year lease.
The environmental management and engineering company is headquartered in downtown Long
Beach and employs more than 8,000 people in more than 160 offices around the globe.