Japan to Help Vietnam City Cope with Waterlogging

The Japanese Kansai Economic Federation (Kankeiren) will help Vietnam’s southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City deal with serious submergences, the Tuoi Tre newspaper reported Nov 25, citing a representative of the federation. Hiroshi Shiroi made the announcement at a meeting with municipal authorities on Nov 24 to seek measures against waterlogging and treat wastewater. The Kankeiren will share experiences and apply advanced technologies to help the city build water supply and drainage systems, solve waterlogging and develop metro routes, Shiroi said. Local authorities are working out a plan to build 12 major flood control dams by 2020 in order to cope with current waterlogging that is estimated to cause damages of nearly VND6.2 trillion to the city a year. HCM City is forecast to see 163 waterlogged areas this year, soaring 60% from a year earlier, with 70 areas of which will be at the serious level, Bui Viet Hung from the city’s Anti-Flood Program Management Centre said. (Tuoi Tre – Youth Nov 25 p13)