The World Bank (WB) has pledged to finance $200 million more for the second phase of an environmental sanitation improvement project in Vietnam’s southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City, said Alain Barbu, Operations and Portfolio Manager of WB. Barbu made the statement at a signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in HCM City July 11 to seek suitable public-private partnership (PPP) and private sector participation (PSP) models for the project. Under the MoU, International Enterprises Singapore (IE Singapore) and the WB will help choose feasible models for implementing the project’s second phase of Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe basin. HCM City is conducting research into a feasible PPP/PSP model for the project’s second stage, including the construction of a drainage system and a wastewater treatment plant with a daily capacity of 830,00cu.m, Nguyen Phuoc Thao, Director of the municipal Flood Prevention Center. The project, which has to date received $290 million from the WB, is designed to improve water drainage system of the city in a move to raise living conditions of over two million local urban residents. The project’s first phase was kicked off in 2001 and is slated for completion by the end of this year. Tan Soon Kim, Director of the Southeast Asia Group of IE Singapore said this is the first time his organization has provided technical assistance to Vietnam, which would make a foundation for deeper cooperation between the two countries. The WB has so far pledged over $600 million to HCM City, Barbu added. (Tuoi Tre –Youth July 12 p2, Tien Phong – Pioneer July 12 p3, Vietnamplus.vn July 11, thesaigontimes.vn July 11)
