Hong Kong's China Everbright announced a RMB 353.5 million JV with the Qingdao municipal government in which it would own 60 percent and share management with France's Veolia.
Meanwhile NWS Holdings, which already runs 16 water plants on the mainland, revealed it is in talks to build a further 10 projects in Fujian, Liaoning and the Yangtze River delta region.
NWS said the utility services business generated decent returns and strong cash flow, allowing the company to earn a return of more than 10 percent.
NWS recently invested RMB 1.2 billion in two chemical waste-treatment projects in Shanghai.