In its 12th Five Year Plan, the Chinese
beyond the 12th Five-Year Plan in order to address its
government has allocated about USD 110
billion per year to environmental protection
and pollution control, including wastewater
and solid waste treatment.
3.1 Government initiatives
Some countries have continued to invest in water
infrastructure projects and have incorporated environ-
mental spending into stimulus packages despite the
economic downturn. The Chinese government, for
instance, has doubled the amount it is committing to
environmental protection in the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011
to 2015). About USD 110 billion per year are earmarked
41
http://www. for environmental protection and pollution control,
pressdemocrat.com/ including a significant proportion for wastewater and
news/3042576-181/
california-could-face-
solid waste treatment. This amount represents almost
500-billion 1-2% of Chinas projected 5-year GDP. It is expected that
Californias government currently spends USD 20 billion annually on its water supply.
China still needs to invest similar amount or even higher
water issues.
In water-scarce California, legislators passed a wide-
ranging package to overhaul the states water system.
The plan calls for a comprehensive ecosystem restora-
tion in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the
construction of new dams, water storage projects, infra-
structure improvements, aggressive water conservation
goals and the monitoring of groundwater use. It also
paves the way for a new canal that would move water
from the north to the south of the state. Continued pop-
ulation growth and dwindling water supplies will require
up to USD 500 billion in investments in water over the
next few decades. Currently, governments spend about
USD 20 billion annually on Californias water supply
and this amount is expected to increase.41 While certain
segments of the water market can look forward to
growth rates of 5% to 10% over the next 10 years, major
regional and sector differences will prevail.
RobecoSAM Water: the market of the future 21