Water infrastructure in China: the importance of full project life-cycle cost analysis in addressing water challenges

Abstract

To address serious wastewater challenges, the government of China is investing in the rapid building of new treatment plants across the country. However, current practice often favours both cost- and energy-inefficient designs and implementation, especially in smaller cities and towns. Combining a full life cycle costing (LCC) approach with financing innovations and the identification and implementation of new technologies can reduce such inefficiencies by 50% or more. One general and two wastewater-specific case studies of new approaches to efficient infrastructure design are discussed.