River Yangtze

In the latest Business Update there was a comment on the first page that in China there were eight confirmed or soon to be confirmed projects on an expanding geographic area.

I'm wondering if some or all of these might be related to the Yangtze River restoration, which you might remember was mentioned in passing in a Global Times report on planned Chinese water projects for 2019.

A week ago, a report from Xinhua provided some more clarity on that plan to protect and restore the Yangtze:

BEIJING, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- China has unveiled an action plan to protect and restore the Yangtze River as the country pushes forward environmental protection.

Water quality of more than 85 percent of Yangtze River segments should reach Level III standard or above by the end of 2020, according to the plan released jointly by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) and National Development and Reform Commission.

It also said more than 90 percent of "black and odorous" water bodies in cities at or above prefecture level in the Yangtze River economic belt should be eliminated by the end of 2020.

Regions along the river in 11 provinces and municipalities are set as key areas, the plan said.It also listed eight major tasks on Yangtze River protection including strengthening industrial, agricultural and shipping pollution treatment, ensuring safety of drinking water source quality and cracking down on ecological destruction.

The protection and renovation of the Yangtze River, the country's longest waterway, should combine water pollution treatment, water ecology restoration and water resources protection, the MEE said.


Notice the mention above of the plan to eliminate most of the 'black and odorous' water bodies in cities located in the Yangtze River economic belt by the end of this year. As we know from numerous past announcements from this company, the treatment of China's 'black and odorous water' is one of the specialities of the China division of the company. The language in the paragraph starting 'Water quality' in the extract above is also reminiscent of that used in a recent Phoslock announcement (pg 7,AGM Presentaion, 22/11/18) ...Over 80% of the (sic) China's water required to meet industrial (Level III) standard by 2020...

You may recall that $5.5 million capital raising in July last year. The management stated that these funds were needed to bid on more and larger contracts.

It is interesting to note, that in the 'Business Progress' announcement released on the first of August, under the sub-heading 'Changxing Factory' there was a comment that '...A major focus is on new products and combinations of materials able to be used in flowing water...'

It makes me wonder if those 'larger contracts' that the company needed those funds to bid for might have been related to the Yangtze River restoration project underway this year. That might explain why the factory subsequently focused on developing new products and materials that could be used in flowing water.

I didn't pick up on this earlier, but the Phoslock factory at Changxing is quite close to the mouth of the Yangtze River. The River is less than 100 kilometres to the north of the factory, so it would seem to be in an ideal located if the company is to have a role in the Yangtze restoration.



It is worth taking another look at that map from the video made by the Phoslock Chinese employees at the end of 2018. If you compare it to the map of the Yangtze River basin underneath, it does look as if most of the Chinese provinces that the company is involved in are clustered around the Yangtze. 



Of course this might simply reflect that the Yangtze is the largest river in Asia, and thus it and its tributaries are major water sources for southern China. 

All the same it is worth pondering whether this recent action plan unveiled by the Chinese government on the restoration of the Yangtze might be news that the company seems to have been waiting for.