ADB Urges Asian Gov'ts to Open Water Distribution

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The Asian Development Bank (ADB) urged governments to adopt policies that would encourage private investment in water distribution as it said the scarcity of potable water in Asia had reached serious proportions.

The Manila-based lending agency said in its 1999 annual report, released on Wednesday, that private investments in water distribution have been embroiled in politics, while subsidies diminish their financial viability.

This is despite the urgent need for fair and productive water distribution, as the scarcity already constrains food supply, causes diseases, and threatens international conflicts, it said.

The ADB said the world needed $70 billion a …