Management guru Peter Drucker said in the early 1990s: "In 10-15 years,
organizations may be outsourcing all work that is 'supportive' rather than
revenue-producing."
The current trend of industrial wastewater treatment in China would bear him
out.
A rising number of large-scale enterprises in China are outsourcing
wastewater treatment to professional contractors to concentrate on their core
businesses, and most importantly, to meet stringent government requirements on
curbing industrial water pollution.
Wastewater
discharge fees for families
Beijing 0.9 yuan (US$0.11) per
ton
Shanghai 0.9 yuan (US$0.11) per ton
Guangzhou 0.7 yuan (US$0.09)
per ton
Wastewater discharge fees for
enterprises
Beijing 1.5 yuan (US$0.19) per ton
Shanghai 1.1-1.4 yuan
(US$0.14-0.17) per ton
Guangzhou 0.7 yuan (US$0.09) per
ton
|
"That is exactly what we are looking
for. It means huge business opportunities for professional wastewater treatment
companies like us," says Huang Xiaojun, vice-president of Veolia Water China.
The French water service company recently signed a partnership contract with
a subsidiary of China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec), China's largest
oil refiner. Under the 25-year agreement, Veolia Water and Sinopec Beijing
Yanshan Petrochemical Corp will set up a 50-50 joint venture to operate
facilities to collect, treat and recycle industrial wastewater at Sinopec
Yanshan, which is located 50 kilometres southwest of Beijing.
"The partnership represents a significant step in strengthening Veolia
Water's business portfolio, in parallel with the municipal business that has
grown strongly over the past three years," says Antoine Frerot, the company's
chief executive officer.
Sinopec Yanshan is Veolia Water's second corporate customer since it entered
China in 1997 it signed a 15-year outsourcing contract in 2003 to manage the
entire water system at Michelin's tyre manufacturing plant in Shanghai. It
currently has 16 municipal water deals.
"Over the years, we have been concentrating on municipal projects in China.
Developing more corporate customers in the country will be the next business
focus," Huang says.