The construction of water supply and environmental sanitation facilities, funded by the Vietnamese and Finnish Governments, began in two towns on the Dong Van Karst Plateau on November 1.

The karst plateau in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang is a global geo-park, where three quarters of natural area is rock mountains and droughts are frequent all the year round.

An investment of 30.2 billion VND (1.4 million USD), including 16.6 billion VND (790,000 USD) from Finland , will be spent on building the facilities in Tam Son town, Quan Ba district.

Meanwhile the facilities in Yen Minh town of the district with the same name will cost total 34 billion VND (1.6 million USD) of which Finland will finance 18.1 billion VND (862,000 USD).

The projects, each has a water supply capacity of 1,000 cu.m per day and night, are part of a water supply and sanitation programme for small towns in Vietnam that fall under the two Governments’ cooperation.

Director of Ha Giang Water Supply and Drainage Ltd. Co. Vu Huu Duc said that the facilities will improve household water quality and environmental sanitation, thus driving local socio-economic growth.

They will also help Ha Giang achieve the target of ensuring access to safe water for all urban residents and 70 percent of rural households, he added.-VNA