Master Techniques from Japan to the World 1

A Medium-Sized Japanese Company Taking on a Challenge to Improve Water Conditions in Laos
Verification project with the private sector for spreading Japanese technologies for water purification systems for enhancing small town water supply in a developing country

Inside the water purification plant in Paksan, Bolikhamxay Province constructed with the project. Staff of TOHKEMY CORPORATION giving guidance to local employees on how to operate the water purification equipment. (Photo: TOHKEMY CORPORATION)

Staff of TOHKEMY CORPORATION giving instructions on maintenance techniques for the equipment to measure the water purity level at the completed water purification plant (Photo: TOHKEMY CORPORATION)

Although Laos has set a national development goal to have a water supply coverage rate of 80% in urban areas by 2020, the rate remains at only 67% as of the end of 2014. In addition, it has become an urgent matter to purify river water stably at a low price, because quality groundwater resources are facing a shortage.

Bolikhamxay Province’s Paksan, a small city in central Laos, has water supply using groundwater, however, there were issues with chronic water shortages and also water quality problems such as the inability to thoroughly remove impurities like calcium contained in the groundwater. In view of this, TOHKEMY CORPORATION, a company with headquarters in Osaka, through JICA’s Framework for Supporting Japanese SMEs in Overseas Business (now referred to as the SDGs Business Supporting Surveys), implemented a dissemination and verification project to confirm the usability of its water purification equipment for introduction to the country, to enable the use of river water as tap water from June 2015 to May 2018.

TOHKEMY CORPORATION is a supplier that sells filtration materials and equipment to water treatment companies and water purification plants in Japan. However, as the company cannot expect growth and expansion of its business in the Japanese domestic market due to the fact that water supply coverage rate is over 99% in Japan and their business will be centered on maintenance and management in the near future, the company has sought business opportunities in developing countries where the waterworks system is not adequately developed. Mr.  HOSOTANI Takuya, Director of TOHKEMY CORPORATION tells us about how they decided to start the project in Laos as follows.

“Although Japanese water treatment companies had already operated in China, Thailand, and Viet Nam, countries which have been developing in Asia, they had not yet entered Laos because it is a landlocked country with a smaller market on the Indochinese Peninsula. Therefore, our company thought that providing water treatment equipment itself would lead to business opportunities, and decided to implement the project in Laos.”

The project started this way, but faced a challenge because the turbidity level of the water of rivers, such as the Mekong River, the water source in Laos, becomes very high when rain falls during the rainy season, and the typical water purification system used for piped water in Japan cannot purify the water properly and adequately. Normally in Japan, in such cases, a chemical agent would be added to accelerate the settlement of mud, the primary cause of turbidity. When the level of turbidity is extremely high, it is possible to consider adding a chemical agent containing a polymer compound, but these are prohibited in Japan, as they could be harmful to the human body if consumed in large quantities.

Thus, TOHKEMY CORPORATION introduced a new method utilizing its unique technology of Fiber Filters (Actifiber), which uses special fibers for pre-treatment in the filtration process of turbid water, and successfully purified the water without using polymers and with lower amounts of other chemical agents.

Through this project, implemented over about three years, it became possible to supply a daily average of 800 tons and an annual accumulated total of around 300,000 tons of drinkable water to the residents of neighboring areas. This is equivalent to the amount of consumption for approximately 1,000 households (around 6,600 people), and led to the increase of the water supply coverage rate of the area increasing from 69% to 88%. In addition, through TOHKEMY CORPORATION’s water purification equipment, it became possible to use large quantities of clean water taken from rivers. This lowered the amount of groundwater consumption, which had quality problems, and resolved the quality issue of piped water. The local people raised their voices with delight one after the other, stating as follows: “We finally have piped water,” “I’m happy that I can use water at any time, 24 hours a day,” “My dishes become very clean when I wash them with the new water,” and “This is the first time I’ve experienced my hair becoming silky after washing it.”

Throughout this project, TOHKEMY CORPORATION placed particular importance on utilizing local resources and manpower. For example, they tried to procure parts made in Laos as much as possible, so that they could lower costs for transporting parts from Japan, and also created local employment. In addition, for maintenance and management after the installation of the water purification equipment, a technology transfer was implemented concerning the equipment’s operation and maintenance to three officials of a water supply company in Bolikhamxay Province. Even after the completion of the project, TOHKEMY CORPORATION continues to provide maintenance support through a local agency and others, and appropriate and smooth operation of the equipment is continuing. TOHKEMY CORPORATION is considering working on human resources development, including for engineers, in Laos. This project, which placed importance on local job creation as well as appropriate operation even after the project’s completion, received high recognition from the local Department of Water Supply and the Government of Laos. After its completion, the project has also led to the business expansion of the company in Laos, as it received orders for filtration equipment from the Bolikhamxay Province Department of Water Supply.

Director Hosotani tells us the following about what the company achieved through this project.

“Our business in Laos is only halfway through, and it is not an easy job. However, we are attracted to the large markets abroad, which cannot be expected in Japan any more, and would like to develop our business in a holistic manner, including the sales of various products related to water purification equipment in the future. In addition, all the staff of TOHKEMY CORPORATION are pleased that our company’s products are being used in developing countries and that the local people appreciate them, and this has led to increasing our motivation for our daily work. Furthermore, we feel that the project in Laos has brought about many other positive effects for the company, including an increase in the number of women and young people wishing to join our company because of our overseas business.”