The interprovincial water supply system project across the Mekong Delta region will receive financial support of 1.3 billion USD, said Nguyen Tuong Van, deputy head of the Technical Infrastructure Department at the Ministry of Construction.

He made the statement during a meeting with officials of Can Tho city and representatives from the World Bank (WB) on February 25.

The project aims to provide a stable fresh water supply for Can Tho city and Hau Giang, An Giang, Kien Giang, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu and Ca Mau provinces, which are suffering critical damage from climate change such as an intrusion of saltwater into rivers and drought, Van said.

According to a survey from Vietnam Water, Sanitation and Environment Joint Stock Company, the localities’ demand for fresh water is calculated at 5,953 cubic metres per day, while the current water supply system is only able to provide about 643 cubic metres per day. The shortage of water is affecting local people’s livelihoods.

Van said that the project’s first phase will be carried out in May, 2016. Water treatment and supply stations will be built based on the study of input water resources and where there is suitable land for station construction, aiming to reduce the number of water pipes as well as the impact on cultivation land, he added.

The project will include two water plans with a combined capacity of 820,000 cubic metres per day. Upon completion, it will improve living and environmental conditions for local residents, contributing to the socio-economic development of the southern key economic region by 2020 and for many years afterwards.

VNA