On May 25, Kuala Lumpur PANTAI 2 Sewage Treatment Plant and Pantai Ecological Park designed and built by BEWG were officially opened in Kuala Lumpur. (Photographed by Deng Wei from this newspaper)

Beijing enterprise’s international cooperation of “Belt and Road” has made significant progress again. In recent days, the largest sewage treatment plant in Malaysia designed and built by BEWG has been put into operation in Pantai District, Kuala Lumpur. Besides, an overground community leisure park open to the resident shows. It is rare for the local people to build a park in a sewage treatment plant. Mr. Najib, the prime minister of Malaysia, cut the ribbon at an opening ceremony for the sewage treatment plant and ecological park.

Serving for one quarter of the Kuala Lumpur's population

There is a landscape called SkyRiver in Paitai Ecological Park. Under the green rippling water, an underground sewage treatment plant can be seen. This sewage treatment plant equipped with advanced technology from Beijing is a hidden but beautiful spot.

The huge sewage treatment plant is alike an underground palace.

The domestic sewage from surroundings is handled  through physical treatment, biological treatment and ultraviolet sterilization, and can be discharged or recycled for use after it meets the requirements for related index. The engineer from BEWG indicated that the discharging standard is far superior to local standard in Malaysia.

According to Li Yongcheng, the vice-general manager of Beijing Enterprises Group and the Chairman of BEWG Board of Directors, the PANTAI 2 Sewage Treatment Plant Project was a China-Malaysia governmental cooperation project officially awarded by Malaysian Ministry of Green Energy Water Resources in July, 2011. At that time, BEWG proposed a plan that the main facility of sewage treatment plant would be built underground; only the sludge digestion unit and the administration building were to be built overground; a large multifunctional sports and leisure landscape park would be built over the sewage treatment plant.

Such design concept was implemented in the water field of Malaysia for the first time which successfully solved the problems caused by the noise and the foul smell generated by the “sewage treatment plant in the city”. At present, this plant is the largest sewage treatment plant and the first underground sewage treatment plant in Malaysia, and the third underground sewage treatment plant in the world.

It is reported that the handling capacity of PANTAI 2 Sewage Treatment Plant is 320,000 tons/day and it serves for the 1.43 million population, about one quarter of the Kuala Lumpur's population.
Ecological Park as community leisure center
Taking a broad view, the park surrounded by trees, mountains and rivers. The water for landscape is from the reclaimed water or rainwater collected and handled by the sewage treatment plant. The lighting electricity is supplied by the power generating equipment of photovoltaic power generation and sludge digestion marsh gas power generation within the park.

Several year ago, it was an open oxidation pond of old sewage plant covering 17 hectare. The spreading foul smell made residents in three communities unwilling to open their windows. After the completion of new sewage treatment plant, the administrative zone of production management and sludge digestion area covers a total area of 5.5 hectare, accounting for about 30% of original site; the rest is used to build a leisure park.

The football filed, basketball court, volleyball court and rattan ball court are built in the park; a community center stands in the east of the park. It has recreation place designed for the children and the sports facility inside the center.

“It becomes beautiful. We can walk here. This project is excellent.” Termizibin Matmin, a citizen, living here for nine years, said.

According to the reporter, many residents here moved away due to environmental problem earlier years. After the PANTAI 2 Sewage Treatment Plant and Pantai Ecological Park are completed, the foul smell vanishes; the community infrastructure is improved; the new buildings are built.

The PANTAI 2 Sewage Treatment Plant is a demonstration project for BEWG to promote the cooperation of “Belt and Road” and accelerate the expansion of overseas business. This plant has received praise and favorable comment from the Malaysia government and all circles of the society in Malaysia. In November, 2015, BEWG was awarded the waterworks reconstruction and pipe network expansion project in Terengganu, Malaysia. This project is designed with a capacity of 0.22 million tons/day in the project mode of BT (Build-Transfer) .

Public service brand of Beijing going abroad

The urban public service is an advantageous field for the state-owned enterprise in Beijing to mainly expand. According to Beijing SASAC State-owned Business Development Planning in 13th Five-Year Plan,  by 2020, the state-owned capital from the urban public service enterprises and special function enterprises will have accounted for 60% of total Beijing state-owned capital.

For many years, the high requirements of Beijing urban operation management drive the urban public service enterprises in Beijing to constantly accumulate the strength of global development. Since 2009, BEWG has embarked on an effort to develop overseas market and has invested in many countries including Malaysia, Portugal and Singapore, with an overseas service population of 4.8 million.

By the end of 2016, the number of the water plants that BEWG have been participated in operation or will operate at home and abroad has reached 452. It is indicated in the latest list of “Top 40 Water Companies” based on the service population that BEWG has become the third water company in the world, next only to Suez Environment and Veolia.

The overseas expansion of BEWG public service including clean energy and solid waste treatment except for water part has been fully accelerated. Beijing Enterprises Group Company Limited ("BEGC") subordinated to BEWG , which has been listed for 20 years in Hong Kong, has completed the 100% share acquisition of EEW company, a leading German enterprise of waste incineration power generation. The merger and acquisition project with the acquisition price of 1.438 billion EURO has become a largest overseas merger and acquisition project in the solid waste and environmental field of China’s enterprises. It will further enhance the overall solid waste and environmental protection level in Beijing even all China.

Complying with the capital market requirements and national policies guidance, BEGC has undergone a series of reforms including recombination, transformation and resources integration, and transforms to a comprehensive public service company. In next step, BEGC will continue to expand the market of countries along the “Belt and Road” to make the public service brand of Beijing go abroad.