Vietnam targets to reduce ratio of clean water leakage to below 25% by 2015 from 30% in 2009 under the national program on tap water loss prevention which has recently been approved by the prime minister. The ratio is expected to be 18% in 2020 and 15% in 2025, the Vietnamese government said on its website Nov 25. The prime minister has also decided to set up a steering board for the program which is chaired by the minister of construction. The program will focus on building data on water meters and pipelines and managing them by using Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geospatial Information System (GIS). The program will establish specialized groups on preventing clean water leakage in water supply companies, especially in big cities like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Danang which reported high rate of water loss. Vietnam is estimated to lose VND165 trillion ($8.6 billion) due to water leakage a year. Vietnam reportedly lost nearly 1.8 million cubic meters of clean water a day in 2009. Volume of lost tap water in the northern city of Haiphong was estimated at over 8 million cubic meters in 2009. (Thoi Bao Kinh Te – Economic Times Nov 26 p3, nld.com.vn Nov 26)
