SUEZ partners with Chongqing to shape a smart, resilient, and resourceful cosmopolitan city

Chongqing has experienced remarkable growth since being elevated to a municipality. With its urban development, this major metropolis of more than 30 million residents has fast-rising demand for water. Therefore, the ability to provide clean water to residents in a sustainable and stable manner has become a top priority for the local government. At the same time, as Chongqing is located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and in the heart of the Three Gorges reservoir area, a sound water environment is particularly important for the hundreds of millions of people living in the Yangtze River basin. In recent years, the local government has intensified efforts to promote water pollution cleanup, water ecosystem restoration, and water resource protection, combining water treatment with living standard improvement to enhance people’s well-being.

SUEZ is committed to improving the quality of life in Chongqing and the Yangtze River basin by providing integrated solutions for residents and industrial customers, and to elevating our project-based cooperation to a strategic partnership in the environmental market.

We provide smart water services by using SUEZ’s AQUADVANCED^® Plant smart solution and big data technology to equip the municipality with a “smart brain” for water supply, further optimising the operational efficiency of water supply facilities and networks. Our water quality goes beyond the national standard and compares favourably to EU water quality standards. Chongqing’s water supply networks’ leakage rate has been reduced from 30% (at the beginning of our partnership) to 9%, which not only increases the security, stability, and quality of the water supply, but also preserves Chongqing’s water resources.

With the launch of the Phase IV expansion project of the Yuelai Water Treatment Plant, SUEZ's daily water supply capacity in Chongqing will increase from the current 1.28 million m³ to approximately 1.6 million m³. The project is scheduled to be operational in 2025 to support the rapid social and economic development of Chongqing, particularly the growing water demand in the northern region.

The Tangjiatuo WWTP primarily adopts the A-AO biological treatment process, supplemented by chemical treatment and a sludge digestion and drying process. Not only does the WWTP enforce the most stringent discharge standards for effluent quality, but its sophisticated operations also aim to boost energy efficiency: The plant has achieved 20%-25% energy self-sufficiency through tailwater power generation and biogas reuse. It also recycles water through the reclaimed water reuse system, significantly reducing the consumption of natural gas, electricity, and raw water, saving 4 million m³ of natural gas, 5 million kWh of electricity, and 4 million m³ of water annually.

The ongoing Phase IV project will transform into a vibrant ecological complex, going beyond the conventional scope of a sewage treatment facility.

Thanks to our advantages in professional management, stable operations, economics, and efficiency, the SUEZ industrial wastewater treatment project has helped the Changshou Chemical Industrial Park make progress in pollution control, energy savings, and emissions reduction, not only achieving the goal of reducing the total pollutants, but also contributing to ecological and environmental protection.

SUEZ installed a monitoring and information platform with proprietary AQUADVANCED^® Urban Drainage solution for the Chongqing Yuelai New City “sponge city”, a city that absorbs and cleans rainwater. This enables the local water company and watershed administrations to monitor their sewage and storm water networking real time, helping mitigate the risks of flooding and water quality degradation in receiving bodies of water.

SUEZ has been driving ecosystem improvement and urban water environment enhancement for the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle with its technical know-how and management expertise in water ecosystem restoration through the Changsheng River integrated remediation project in Chongqing, the “livable waterfront” project in the Wuhou District of Chengdu, and the Clear Water and the restoration and improvement works at the Yipin River and Huangxi River in Chongqing (as part of the “Clear Water and Green Banks” program).

SUEZ already has seven R&D facilities in China, including the Chongqing Sino French Environmental Excellence R&D Center. Established in 2012 by SUEZ with Chongqing Water Group, Chongqing Water Environmental Holding Group, and Chongqing Derun Environment, the Center develops environmental solutions for applications such as operations and maintenance, process optimisation, testing of new technologies, and quality and material testing; promotes knowledge transfer from SUEZ to the Chongqing area; cultivates local talent; and shares research resources and achievements with local research institutes.

• Our cooperation with the Chongqing Municipal Government and local partners is recognised as the most successful Sino-foreign PPP model in China’s water industry.
• Our water project has been named the Most Socially Responsible Water Company in China and is considered a service benchmark in China’s water supply industry.
• Our municipal wastewater project has been hailed as a national benchmark WWTP for operations management and precision control of key processes and awarded the IWA Climate Smart Utilities recognition.