On June 15 (local time), the inauguration ceremony for the Ulaanbaatar Central Wastewater Treatment Plant was held in Mongolia’s capital city of Ulaanbaatar. The event was attended by Wang Yi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of China; Uyls Tuguldur, Chief of the Office of the President of Mongolia; Mongolian Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh; and other Mongolian officials. Liu Bo, Party Secretary and Chairman of China TIESIJU Civil Engineering Group, also attended the ceremony.

Speaking on behalf of the President of Mongolia, Uyls Tuguldur described the Ulaanbaatar Central Wastewater Treatment Plant as a landmark achievement of China–Mongolia friendship and cooperation that delivers tangible benefits to the Mongolian people. He expressed sincere appreciation for China’s longstanding and comprehensive support for Mongolia’s economic and social development and voiced confidence that the China–Mongolia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership would continue to deepen and achieve sustained, long-term progress.

The Ulaanbaatar Central Wastewater Treatment Plant is a flagship livelihood project under the practical cooperation framework between China and Mongolia. Constructed entirely by China TIESIJU Civil Engineering Group using Chinese standards and technologies, it is currently the largest and most technologically advanced modern wastewater treatment facility in Mongolia. Covering a total site area of 178,000 square meters, the project includes 55 supporting structures and has a designed treatment capacity of 250,000 cubic meters of wastewater per day. It is capable of centrally collecting and treating both domestic sewage and industrial wastewater generated across Ulaanbaatar, providing services to nearly half of Mongolia’s population. Following its commissioning, the facility will substantially improve the water environment of the Tuul River Basin, eliminate environmental risks associated with untreated wastewater discharge, and establish a vital ecological safeguard for the green and sustainable development of Mongolia’s capital.

Located in a high-latitude, extremely cold region, Ulaanbaatar experiences winter temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius, resulting in a very limited construction season and exceptionally challenging cold-weather construction conditions. During implementation, the project team of China TIESIJU Civil Engineering Group drew extensively on China’s mature experience in infrastructure construction in severe cold regions. Tailored anti-freezing and thermal insulation measures were adopted for the biochemical treatment tanks, pipeline network and advanced treatment facilities. In addition, the project innovatively incorporated a waste heat recovery system utilizing biogas generated through anaerobic sludge digestion to achieve energy recycling throughout the plant. The facility is capable of reducing overall pollutant emissions by up to 96 percent, while the treated effluent meets internationally advanced discharge standards.

Addressing the ceremony, Wang Yi noted that during President Xi Jinping’s visit to Mongolia in 2014, China clearly expressed its support for the development of Mongolia’s public infrastructure, laying a solid foundation for the implementation of this project. He said the wastewater treatment plant embodies the shared commitment of the leaders of both countries and the aspirations of their peoples, serving as a vivid testament to the tradition of mutual assistance and good-neighborly friendship between China and Mongolia.

Quoting the Chinese saying, “Close relatives wish each other well, and good neighbors wish each other prosperity,” Wang Yi emphasized that China has consistently supported Mongolia’s economic development and efforts to improve people’s livelihoods. Since the 1950s, Chinese builders have participated in the construction of more than 850 projects across Mongolia. In the new era, the two countries have continued to deepen cooperation in cross-border connectivity, border port modernization, urban renewal, ecological conservation, environmental governance and healthcare. These cooperative achievements have all been firmly rooted in improving people’s livelihoods, making China–Mongolia relations a model of mutually beneficial cooperation and friendly coexistence between neighboring countries. China, he said, will continue to uphold the neighborhood diplomacy vision of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness, and the policy of fostering an amicable, secure and prosperous neighborhood, and jointly advance the development of a Green Silk Road.

As a flagship green cooperation project under the Belt and Road Initiative between China and Mongolia, the project received financing support from the Export-Import Bank of China. Since construction commenced following contract signing in 2019, more than 700 Chinese and Mongolian builders have worked together to overcome numerous challenges, including extreme cold weather, shortages of construction materials and limited local supporting industries. The team completed all construction, commissioning and testing work on schedule, enabling the facility to commence operation successfully while demonstrating the strength of Chinese engineering through outstanding construction quality.