Hau Giang spends big to ensure clean water supply for rural residents

Hau Giang (VNA) - The Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang plans to allocate more than 35 billion VND (1.56 million USD) to bring clean water to local rural residents in 2016.

Under the plan, over 4,000 additional rural households will access to clean water, raising the rate of rural households supplied with clean water to 88 percent.

The rural clean water programme will be implemented together with other socio-economic development and new-style rural area building programmes with focus on the remote and far-flung areas with crowded population.

The province aims to mobilise different resources for the rural clean water programme while offering incentives to investors from other provinces in the sector.

The programme is expected to improve the living and health condition of rural residents while contributing to the environmental protection.

In 2015, the province spent nearly 26 billion VND (1.16 million USD) to build water facilities, serving roughly 5,000 households in remote and disadvantaged areas, especially those with salt intrusion.

The amount also covered the construction of concentrated clean water supply stations in the communes of Nhon Nghia A and Thuan Hung in Long My district.

Six irrigation works were also built in Long My and Vi Thanh districts, and Long My and Nga Bay towns, which suffered from salt intrusion.

Over the past 12 years, more than 520 billion VND (23.21 million USD) have been invested in developing local water supply system, of which more than 350 billion (15.62 million USD) is sourced from the State budget.

Currently, the locality has 250 water supply stations, serving 33,000 households, or 86 percent of the local population. Some half of them are using clean water that meets the Health Ministry’s standard.-VNA