Vietnam PM Oks WB-funded Urban Water Supply, Wastewater Project

The Vietnamese prime minister has approved the negotiation result of an urban water supply and wastewater project funded by the World Bank (WB), the Doanh Nhan Viet Nam Toan Cau newspaper reported July 01. The State Bank of Vietnam’s governor has been assigned to sign the loan agreement and related documents with the WB representative. The $200-million project’s first phase is aimed to upgrade water supply and wastewater treatment systems in 11 provinces of Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Quang Nam, Quang Ninh, Ninh Binh, Lam Dong, Quang Tri, Dak Lak, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc and Kien Giang. More than 90% of total volume of wastewater in Vietnam has not yet been treated so far, experts said, adding that the country aims to treat over 80% of its total wastewater volume by 2025. Earlier, the global bank approved a $160-million loan to a water resources management project in the Mekong Delta region, aiming to protect and boost the use of water resources for agriculture production, supply clean water and contribute to tackling climate change. (dvt.vn July 01)