Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SVB) Le Minh Hung and World Bank Acting Country Director for Vietnam Achim Fock signed an agreement on July 11 to provide Vietnam with 560 million USD in loans to implement climate change response projects in Mekong Delta localities.

Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Le Minh Hung (R) and World Bank Acting Country Director for Vietnam Achim Fock shaked hands at the signing ceremony.

Under the deal, 250 million USD will be poured into a project to develop Can Tho city and strengthen its adaptation to climate change to lessen the risk of flood and improve transport connection between the downtown and new surrounding urban areas.

The project is expected to benefit 420,000 locals and help the municipal government to manage natural disaster risks more effectively.

Meanwhile, the remaining 310 million USD will be invested in the building of climate change resilience capacity and ensuring a sustainable livelihood for 1.2 million people in nine Mekong Delta localities affected by climate change, saltwater intrusion, seashore landslides and flooding.

According to Achim Fock, recent extreme weather conditions in the Mekong Delta region, including floods, drought and saltwater intrusion, have negatively impacted the living of people from both urban and rural areas, most of whom are poor.

WB’s funding aims to support the region in adapting to climate change in a sustainable manner, he added.

The SBV Governor affirmed that the signing of the agreement shows the importance of the Mekong Delta and the consideration of both Vietnam and international sponsors to the region.

The deal raises total funding by the WB to the region to over 1.4 billion USD, focusing on infrastructure development, transportation, health care, poverty reduction and climate change response, he noted.

VNA