AFD will finance water supply projects in rural areas

In the period 2013-2015, AFD will expand the water supply networks in a number of provinces in the Mekong Delta. In particular, four water treatment plants will be built in An Giang and Vinh Long, said Gravellini. This was informed by Jean-Marc Gravellini, director of AFD in Vietnam, at an event held by AFD and the French Center for Culture and Cooperation in HCMC on Tuesday to introduce the film "The Thirst of the World.”

Specifically, two plants will be developed in An Giang with a daily capacity of 5,000 and 9,600 cubic meters respectively. When these plants are completed, an additional 9,000 people will have clean water for their daily activities.

Meanwhile, two new water treatment plants will go up in Vinh Long with a total capacity of 11,500 cubic meters per day, supplying clean water for 5,000 people. The project will be finished by June 2015.

AFD will grant the Government an aid of 30 million euros, around US$38 million, and then the Government will give this sum to Vietnam Development Bank (VDB) to carry out water supply system expansion projects in some Mekong Delta provinces.

Since 1997, via various financial cooperation tools, AFD and the French treasury have assisted Vietnam in implementation of 30 clean water and sanitation projects with total pledged capital of 340 million euros, or some US$432 million, said Gravellini.

Particularly, AFD has supported 13 projects with capital commitment of more than 270 million euros. Meanwhile, the French Treasury has provided a financial aid of nearly 75 million euros.