• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2023.05a
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• pp.182-182
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• 2023

Since China adopted Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in the 1980s, China has relied on water PPPs to expand appropriate water facilities.. According to the World Bank data from 1994 to 2020, the top five provinces hosted over 40 percent of total PPPs, with four of them located in the Huadong area and one in the Henan area. A vast gap exists between the group attracting the most PPPs and the group hosting the least. This study explores Guangdong and Shandong provinces, which have led most PPPs in China. Coincidently, these areas are also famous for the typical areas to show the Chinese economic policy after the open-door policy. They have achieved economic development and rapid urbanization rates based on the large scale of Foreign Direct Investment inflow and export-oriented manufacturing industry, as well as their active participation in PPPs over the last thirty years. An economic approach can provide valuable insights into the development of water infrastructure. Adequate urban infrastructure has been shown to impact local economic development positively. Water infrastructure also provides a basic and sustainable environment for economic activities by satisfying more water usage, improving the efficiency of the water supply, and reducing water pollution caused by industrial activities. However, it remains only partially understood without inclusive research on the issues related to water resources in each province. For instance, existing studies have been limited to explaining slightly different patterns of water PPPs between Guangdong and Shandong at the beginning of the PPP era. This study aims to elucidate the development pattern of water PPPs in each province from multi-dimensional aspects. Therefore, the study will help understand why China boosted the development of the private water market.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2022.05a
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• pp.211-211
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• 2022

The marketization reform from the open-door policy in 1978 was not only booming export-oriented industries with foreign investment but also expanding the role of private actors in the Chinese water sector. Private Sector Participation (PSP) has become an important element in developing urban infrastructure by providing better services with advanced facilities. The rapid development of PSP-driven urban water infrastructure in China has a positive impacted on Chinese economic development, particularly in coastal areas. PPPs in some coastal areas have successfully spread out over China since China applied the first Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) mode in the water sector in the early 1990s. The market-oriented water and wastewater, Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mechanism in the initial period of China has been transformed into a state-dominated PPP mechanism. The development pattern of the water and wastewater PPPs in China has been divided in four stages: the first period from 1984 to 2002, the second period from 2003 to 2008, the third period from 2009 to 2014, and the last period after 2015. The study aims to investigate the successful process of water and wastewater PPPs in local areas through five socioeconomic elements: export-oriented economic strategy, urbanization, cheap land policy, infrastructure investment, and water issues and climate change. In addition, the study focuses on analyzing the extent to which the Chinese government re-asserted its control over the PPP mechanism by classifying five elements in three different development Phases from early 2000 to 2020. The Jiangsu Province in the estern coastal area has actively invited PPP projects in the water and wastewater sectors. The successful introduction and rapid growth of PPPs in the urban water infrastructure has made the province an attractive area for a foreign investor.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.217-227
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• 2022

Since China adopted Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in the water sector in the early 1990s, PPPs have played a key role in improving infrastructure development in China. As the Chinese water market became one of the most enormous and potential existing in the world, once a water player settles down in the market, the company tends to be the world-leading water player on the basis of the number of people served from water infrastructure. Unlike the early PPP period overwhelmed by several water transnational corporations, local water players began to dominate the domestic market and have recently expanded their influence overseas. The Chinese government has continuously intervened to promote private sector participation of local water players in the PPP development process in legal and institutional aspects. Thus this article examined the development of water PPPs in China and analyzed the successful elements of local water players' growth related to the government policy.