Germany will speed up the provision of official development assistance (ODA) for the Mekong Delta in the fields of climate change adaptation, energy and environment. Dr. Hans Dieter Stell, German Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City, made the affirmation at a meeting with Can Tho city’s leaders on April 3. According to the diplomat, Vietnam and Germany have seen fruitful cooperation in the fields, with the latter’s large ODA projects in the Mekong Delta region. Among those are a 200 million EUR project to build the O Mon IV thermoelectricity power plant, a 13.5 million EUR mangrove forest protection project and another worth 26 million EUR in wastewater treatment. In addition, a program to improve the ecosystems in five regional provinces, namely Bac Lieu, Soc Trang, Ca Mau, An Giang and Kien Giang, has helped raise locals’ awareness of environmental protection and how to slow down salt water intrusions in coastal areas. The Consul General said a delegation of German parliamentarians will make a two-day working visit to Mekong provinces late this month to seek ways to improve the efficiency of sea dykes.(Vietnam News April 3)
