From September 22 to 24, 2025, a five-member delegation from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) visited Jinan, Shandong Province, to conduct a three-day loan review mission of the ADB Loan for Air Quality Improvement in the Greater Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region – Shandong Clean Heating and Cooling Project. Approved by the ADB in 2019 with a total loan amount of EUR 350 million, the project aims to promote clean heating and cooling technologies, replace traditional coal energy, contribute to regional air quality improvement and energy structure optimization, and actively respond to national and local strategic deployments for reducing coal consumption, cutting carbon emissions, and enhancing air quality.

This mission focused on key dimensions including project implementation progress, operational management mechanisms, financial execution compliance, procurement process standardization, contract fulfillment, institutional capacity building, and the implementation of environmental, social, resettlement, and gender policies. Responsible persons from relevant units including the Shandong Provincial Development and Reform Commission, Shandong Provincial Department of Finance, Jinan Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Jinan Municipal Finance Bureau, Jinan Energy Group, Jinan Heating Power Group, Jinan Thermal Power Group, and Jinan Energy Investment Holding Group participated in the meetings and held in-depth exchanges with the ADB team on project advancement.

During the mission, the ADB team gained a comprehensive understanding of the project's execution status through thematic presentations, document reviews, and field surveys.Energy and Environmental Development Research Center (EED), as the project management consulting firm, offered comprehensive technical support throughout the process.The mission results indicated that the project has achieved significant results in engineering construction, fund management, procurement compliance, project management, and environmental and social benefits. Core indicators are progressing as planned and are expected to be exceeded upon project completion, receiving high recognition from the ADB.

The mission concluded that by introducing clean energy sources such as natural gas and renewables, the project effectively substitutes scattered coal combustion, significantly reducing emissions of soot, PM2.5, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and other pollutants, positively impacting the improvement of living standards and public health in rural areas. The technological pathway and management model adopted by the project possess strong demonstrative effects and promotion value, providing an important reference for similar regions advancing clean heating and cooling.

The ADB team also conducted field visits to sub-project sites including No.4 Energy Station, the Shanghe Coal-Free Clean Heating Demonstration subproject ect., fully affirming the engineering effectiveness, community engagement, and implementation of social safeguard measures.

This loan review mission has laid a solid foundation for subsequent loan settlement and the project completion in 2026. EED expressed its full commitment to supporting the Project Execution Office in advancing the implementation of all project tasks, leveraging its professional expertise to provide comprehensive support throughout the project completion phase. Efforts will continue to optimize the whole-process project management mechanism to ensure the timely and high-quality completion of the project, providing a replicable and scalable practical model for green and low-carbon development in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and Shandong Province.