PROJECT

Projects

Environmental & Social Review Summary

Project Number

35266

Company Name

CHINA EVERBRIGHT WATER LIMITED

Date ESRS Disclosed

Jan 23, 2015

Country

China

Region

East Asia and the Pacific

Last Updated Date

Jun 1, 2023

Environmental Category

B - Limited

Status

Completed

Previous Events

Approved : Jan 13, 2015
Signed : Jan 19, 2015
Invested : Apr 17, 2015

Sector

Water and Wastewater Utilities

Industry

Infrastructure

Department

Regional Industry - INF Asia & Pac

Project Description

China Everbright Water Limited (“CEWL”) (formerly: HanKore Environment Tech Group Ltd. “HanKore”), is incorporated in Bermuda and listed on the main board of the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX U9E). CEWL focuses on water and environmental protection industries in China.

On Jun 2014 China Everbright Water Holdings Limited (“CEWHL”) entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement with HanKore to sell the entire issued and paid-up capital of China Everbright Water Investment Limited (CEWIL) to HanKore for a total consideration of RMB5.81 billion (approx. US$94.6 million). The transaction was closed on December 12 2014, and the enlarged HanKore was renamed to CEWL. After the completion of this acquisition, CEWL engaged with strategic investors including IFC and proposed to issue common shares through private placement to support its restructuring and future growth plans.

China Everbright has been operating in the water sector in China since 2004. The company has built up a portfolio of twenty-five (25) strategic assets with a total contracted capacity of over 2.2 million m3/day which will serve a future population of 11.1 million residential users. Their assets include eighteen (18) wastewater treatment plants, four (4) water reuse treatment plants, one (1) surface water treatment plant and two (2) waste heat pump projects.

Since the previous appraisal in 2012, several plants in construction were completed and placed into operation, increasing existing operational capacity from 1.62 million m3/day to 1.96 million m3/day. Four new assets have been added to the portfolio including Dezhou Nanyunhe WWTP II, Zhangqiu WWTP, Lingxian WWT Plant 1 upgrade, and Binzhou Boxing WWTP II.

The acquisition of Hankore will add eleven (11) wastewater treatment plant assets with a contracted capacity of 1.76 million m3/day and a current operational capacity of 0.8 million m3/day. This will bring CEI’s total contracted capacity to over 4 million m3/day, bringing the company into the top five for wastewater treatment in China.

IFC proposes to support CEWL’s growth plans in the water, water re-use, and sewage treatment sector in China. The total amount of common shares issued by CEWL through this private placement is US$85 million, and IFC’s equity subscription is US$35 million.

Overview of IFC's Scope of Review

The scope of review of China Everbright Water Limited’s (“CEWL”) potential to comply with IFC’s Performance Standards included assessment of the management capacity of the company to continue to provide adequate oversight of environmental, social, health and safety performance in relation to IFC Performance Standards, regulatory requirements and relevant aspects of applicable Environmental Health and Safety guidelines. The review relied on documents and reports made available by CEWL, IFC technical expert’s assessment and interviews conducted by IFC staff during their site visits in December, 2014. The IFC team visited the company's treatment facilities acquired from the company formerly known as HanKore Environment Tech Group Ltd. in Daxing, Qingdao and Suzhou, China. IFC conducted interviews with key management personnel, operational managers and staff and human resources of the company. The scope of the review builds upon an earlier review conducted by IFC in 2013 for a previous investment in the company.

IFC’s appraisal considered environmental and social management plans for the project and gaps if any between these plans and IFC requirements. Corrective measures, intended to close these gaps within a reasonable period of time, are summarized in the paragraphs that follow and will be addressed as part of the company’s environmental and social management plan. Through implementation of these management plans, the project is expected to be designed and operated in accordance with IFC Performance Standards objectives.

China Everbright is an existing client of IFC’s, with the previous Environmental and Social Review Summary (ESRS) (CEI Water # 31781) having been disclosed on February 12, 2014. The ESRS and associated Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP) can be accessed at:

https://disclosures.ifc.org/#/projectDetail/ESRS/31781

Based on ongoing IFC supervision records for this portfolio project, its current environmental and social performance rating is satisfactory.

E & S Project Categorization and Applicable Standard

Environmental and Social Mitigation Measures

Stakeholder Engagement

Broad Community Support

Environmental & Social Action Plan