Vietnam Biggest City Aims to Supply Water to 92% of Population by 2015

Ho Chi Minh City, the most populous city of Vietnam, has set a target to provide safe water to 92% of its population by 2015, an increase from the current 87.27%, according to the Saigon Water Company (Sawaco). To reach the goal, Sawaco, the main water supplier in the city, will need an estimated VND18.72 trillion ($883 million) to build a number of water supply plants and upgrade 1,300km of old pipelines. The rate of clean water leakage in HCM City remains quite high at 38.5% due to downgraded pipelines, causing a big waste of tap water while its dwellers are facing a severe lack of hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of clean water for their daily lives. Sawaco aims to raise its daily water supply capacity for HCM City to 2.4 million cu.m in 2015 from the current 1.5 million cu.m, benefiting 1.54 million households by 2015, versus the current 1.33 million. The city aims to have all rural residents using clean water by 2025. (Tuoi Tre – Youth Aug 9 p2, Thoi Bao Kinh Te Viet Nam -  Vietnam Economic Times Aug 9 p2)