Hanoi has been implementing a five-year plan to provide all people in the city’s rural areas access to hygienic water by 2015.

According to Deputy Head of the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Dao Duy Tan, the plan also sets the target that 100 percent of families in the city will have hygienic toilets by 2015.

The 2013-2017 plan has a total budget of 743 billion VND (35.3 million USD, with 640 billion VND sourced by loans from the World Bank.

The programme, covering 13 districts with 77 communes, will be carried out in three phases. Phase one will build seven water plants and pipeline systems to supply water for about 165,000 people. In phase two, 167 toilets for schools and 22,100 sanitation facilities for familie will be built, while phase three will focus on enhancing working capacity for the water supply and environmental hygiene sectors.

Besides, the city has mobilised various resources to invest in fresh water supply programmes in rural areas, with a total investment of 1,836 billion VND (87.4 million USD).

Currently, two thirds of Hanoi’s rural population lack fresh water, 15 percent of them do not have access to clean water.

Water shortage is a problem for many localities in the city, including Chang Son and Thach Xa communes in Thach That district, Hiep Thuan commune in Phuc Tho district, Tam Hung, Thanh Thuy and Xuan Duong communes in Thanh Oai district, and Quang Phu Cau and Lien Bat communes in Ung Hoa district.-VNA