Vinaconex Offers to Build New Water Supply Pipeline, but Hanoi Refuses

Vinaconex (VCG) offers to build a second fresh water supply pipeline connecting from Da River to ensure sufficient water dwellers in capital Hanoi after its first pipeline broke for the ninth time on July 12, but municipal authorities have refused. The new pipeline may require an investment of VND1 trillion, which will be sourced from VCG’s equity and commercial loans as well, said Vinaconex’s General Director Vu Quy Ha. Mr. Ha said the new pipeline will have a total length of 28 kilometers and be in parallel with the current one. However, Vice Chairman Nguyen Quoc Hung of Hanoi’s People’s Committee said at a meeting last week that the city will start building a separate pipeline in September to bring water from the Da River to the capital. Vinaconex, which has a 57.79% stake owned by the State Capital Investment Corp (SCIC), is the investor of the first pipeline while its affiliate Vinaconex Clean Water JSC operates the VND1.5 trillion system. The fiberglass-reinforced pipes for the first pipeline, which has a current capacity of 600,000 cubic meters a day, were made by Vinaconex’s factory with a low-cost technology it bought from China. Constant breakages and leaks were out of control of Vinaconex Clean Water JSC and seriously affected 70,000 families in the capital city. (VnExpress Jul 15)