Netherlands funds water supply project

Nearly 20,000 households in HCMC, Soc Trang, Tra Vinh and Can Tho will be supplied with clean water from the climate change and water supply project funded by the Dutch government.

The Netherlands-based Vitens Evides International (VET) on Tuesday signed an agreement with water companies in HCMC, Soc Trang, Tra Vinh and Can Tho University to provide capital for the project.

Speaking to the Daily at the signing ceremony, director of VET Gerhard Van Den Top said that the Dutch government via VET will grant some five million among ten million euros needed for the project. The remaining five million euros will be sourced from reciprocal capital of water suppliers in the four localities, he added.

According to VET, the project will be implemented in four years, from now until 2017, with an aim to improve the water supply network in the face of climate change, rising sea level and salinity intrusion in many areas in the Mekong Delta and HCMC. Those benefiting from the project are poor people.

In HCMC, with 4.7 million euro from the project, Saigon Water Corporation (Sawaco) will focus on supplying water to poor residents by building ten kilometers of new water pipeline, upgrading another ten kilometers, adopting technical measures to reduce the chemical volume used at Tan Hiep water plant by 5% and reduce another 5% of power consumption at the plant.

Related topics