Over $273.95 million will be spent on improving the environment in Phan Rang city in south-central Ninh Thuan province, Nha Trang in south-central Khanh Hoa province, Quy Nhon city in south-central Binh Dinh province, and Dong Hoi city in central Quang Binh province.

Most will be borrowed from the World Bank under a project recently approved by the government to protect the environment in central coastal cities.

$237.5 million will be ODA from the World Bank with reciprocal capital of $36.094 million, including $12.15 million from Ninh Thuan, $11.1 million from Khanh Hoa, $4.944 million from Binh Dinh and $7.91 million from Quang Binh.

In the four cities the project is expected to improve environmental conditions, enhance people’s health by completing infrastructure, create an urban landscape, and improve awareness of environmental protection.

Last year Dong Hoi, Quy Nhon and Nha Trang were provided drainage, wastewater collection, treatment plants, and solid waste management facilities under the World Bank’s Coastal Cities Environmental Sanitation Project for Vietnam.

Over 800,000 residents benefited from improved solid waste management and about 250,000 were protected from flooding, 66,500 students received sanitation facilities at schools, and 8,452 poor families received funds to upgrade their toilets.