The World Bank has approved a $100 million loan to China to improve flood protection for 1.3 million people in the urban areas of Ma'anshan city, Anhui province. Ma'anshan, in the Yangtze Delta, is one of China's 20 fastest-growing cities. The Cihu river, a tributary of the Yangtze, flows through the city. Ma'anshan's rapid expansion and urbanisation has posed numerous water-related challenges including a reduced level of protection against flooding due to weakened embankments; frequent flooding in urban areas due to the Cihu river's reduced ability to drain stormwater; inadequately-designed urban storm drainage systems; poor water quality in canals and tributaries of the Cihu due to untreated wastewater and solid waste; and siltation and water pollution in the river from upstream mining activities.
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