Authorities of Vietnam’s central province of Quang Binh will spend VND2.4 trillion ($114.83 million) on clean water supply and environmental sanitation projects by 2020. Of the sum, 40% will be sourced from the state budget and the rest 60% will come from social resources. The projects will focus on building and upgrading tap water supply stations and expanding operations of existing ones in rural areas as well as speeding up construction of water supply systems for tourism sites with the aim to improve living conditions of local people. Under the projects, Quang Binh targets to raise the rate of rural households using tap water to 90% by 2020, with the minimum volume of 100 liters/person/daily. The rate for rural households having hygienic latrines will be 95% by the year. The Vietnamese government earlier set a goal to help 90% of its population enjoy tap water by 2020 and 100% by 2025. Foreign donors from Denmark, Australia and the U.K. have also committed more supports for a national target program on rural water and environmental sanitation in Vietnam in the years to come. (Nhan Dan – The People Nov 9 p7, Baovanhoa.vn Nov 8)
