Vietnam Firm to Expand ADB-funded Water Supply Networks in South

The Saigon Water Supply Corporation (Sawaco) will carry out a $154-million project including $138 million from the Asian Development Bank to reduce water leakage expand water supply networks in Vietnam’s southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City by 2015. Under the five-year project, Sawaco will build a water supply system from the Binh Thai crossroad in District 9 to the central districts and establish supervising center for water leakage prevention as well as and upgrade all downgrading pipelines in the city. The city’s pipeline system stretches a total of 3,350 kilometers, supplying 1.7 million cubic meters of tap water per day, of which almost 700 kilometers of the pipes were over 30 years ago. Sawaco, the key supplier of tap water in Ho Chi Minh City, targets to cut the rate of water leakage to 30%-32% by 2015 from 40% currently. As of end-2009, the ADB provided over $8 billion for 87 projects and programs in Vietnam, making the Southeast Asian country become its third largest aid recipient behind Bangladesh and Pakistan. (Tuoitrenews.vn Feb 16, thesaigontimes.vn Feb 15)