Mr. Orii (left) and Mr. Ushida (right) of Kanadevia Corporation
Please give us some background on what led you to this project.
It all started with our desire to improve the situation of uncontrolled factory wastewater in Southeast Asia and other places.
Then after hearing from local people that rather than spending money on non-production facilities like wastewater treatment, they wanted to first improve drinking water, we started with the idea that we could use water purification as a breakthrough to later handle wastewater treatment as well.
Why did you choose Cambodia?
The penetration rate of water supply was low. As in Myanmar, water shortages due to rapid urbanization and population growth, as well as the lack of private water utilities in areas not served by public waterworks have made residents in those areas dependent on turbid shallow wells and river water or expensive water purchased from water vendors. On top of this, the spread of COVID-19 had already created a need to improve public sanitation and hygiene.
Were there any difficulties in entering the local market due the nation’s history?
Thanks to the Miracle of Phnom Penh*, the groundwork for activities in the area had already been laid by the City of Kitakyushu, and because Japanese people are trusted, there were no major issues.
The feature of this equipment is that it is a package type and compact. Is there any reason for this?
This product is originally intended to be a decentralized water supply system for broad use in areas without water purification facilities or running water. For that reason, we wanted to make it compact so that it can easily be installed in various locations and deliver clean water to as many people as possible.
Another important point is that making it a packaged type, the construction period can be significantly shortened, eliminating the need to build a water purification facility from scratch. By making the area for water supply compact, it will be possible to produce water for each village, and the total cost, including maintenance, can be reduced. We are hoping that the compact water purification equipment will ensure that clean water is distributed appropriately to nearby residents.
This filtration system uses the fiber filter media shown in the photo.
The new fiber filter media consists of two types of fiber filter materials, one that has conventionally been used as a replacement for initial sedimentation in sewage treatment plants, and one that is used as a replacement for a sand filter. With efficient contaminant absorption, sedimentation separation, and filtration using these two types of fiber filter media, we have not only succeeded in purifying highly turbid water, but also in making the entire water purification system significantly more compact.
