The Department of Planning and Investment of HCM City has asked the municipal government to add four wastewater treatment facilities worth a total of 890 million USD to the list of projects to be financed by Asian Development Bank (ADB) aid in 2016-2020, the Saigon Times Daily reports.

The daily cited a document sent to the city government as saying that the department wants the ADB to lend 513 USD million to West Saigon wastewater plant which will cost around 570 USD million and have a daily treatment capacity of 150,000 cubic metres.

It also proposed borrowing 81 million USD from the ADB for North Saigon wastewater project, which is expected to cost 90 million USD and have a daily capacity of 170,000 cubic metres.

The other two projects are the 200-million-USD Binh Tan facility with a capacity of 180,000 cubic metres per day and the 75-million-USD Tan Hoa-Lo Gom canal basin wastewater project having a daily capacity of 300,000 cubic metres.

The city authorities should also borrow 225 million USD to fund Binh Tan project and 67.5 million USD to finance Tan Hoa-Lo Gom project.

Relevant agencies are expected to work with the city government in July to further discuss the list of projects to be financed by preferential ADB loans.

In line with the Government’s Decision 24/2010/TTg issued in 2010, HCM City will have 12 wastewater treatment facilities by 2025 in the basins of major canals running through the city including Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe, Tau Hu-Ben Nghe, Doi-Te and Tan Hoa-Lo Gom.

The city now has only two wastewater treatment plants under operation – Binh Hung which is being expanded from 141,000 to 469,000 cubic metres, and Binh Hung Hoa with a capacity of 30,000 cubic metres per day. More such facilities will be needed as the city discharges nearly two million cubic metres of wastewater a day.

Therefore, the city is calling for investors to get involved in a dozen wastewater treatment facilities with a combined capacity of three million cubic metres a day.-VNA