Illustrative photo (Source: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – The InternationalFinance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, has committed aconvertible loan worth 15.3 million USD to DNP Water JSC, a private Vietnamesecompany, to increase access to and availability of clean water for residents inurban areas.
According to a press release by IFC, asagreed by all parties, the financing package may increase to 24.9 million USDto support further growth of the company.
DNP Water aims to expand its portfolio ofmainly urban water treatment and supply facilities in Vietnam, and is planningto increase its treatment and supply capacity by five times to one millioncubic meters per day by 2025.
IFC’s investment will support the company’sgrowth by funding the construction of new bulk water treatment plants and theacquisition of equitised water supply companies. This will help improve accessto clean water mostly in second- and third-tier cities in Vietnam.
IFC considers access to affordable and cleanwater a key development target and expects its investment to help encourageparticipation of the private sector in this area and in the growing equitised watersector in Vietnam, said Kyle Kelhofer, IFC Senior Country Manager for Vietnam,Cambodia and Lao PDR.
IFC’s financing will further accelerate theleveraging of the private sector for critical infrastructure, and champion thegrowth of local entrepreneurs, he added.
IFC has extensive experience supportingprivate sector investments in water and waste water worldwide. It made 55investments totaling 2.2 billion USD, including mobilisation, in the last 10years.
“We greatly appreciate IFC’s long-termfunding in an important, but quickly changing sector,” said Vu Dinh Do, DNPWater Chairman.
“IFC’s extensive water sector expertise willfurther help us bring international best practices to the Vietnamese watersector and improve our sustainability standards,” he said.
Currently only about 35 percent of theVietnamese population is connected to piped water. According to the World Bank’sestimates, the country needs investments worth 1 billion USD per year to 2020for urban water supply to meet its current and future growth demands. While thegovernment is aware of this challenge, it faces fiscal constraints and hascalled for increased private funding for clean water and piped-water coverageexpansion.-VNA
VNA
