Twelve hydrographical stations, funded by France, were handed over to Vietnam at a ceremony in Can Tho City in the Mekong Delta on March 7.

Half of the 12 monitoring stations are located in the Mekong Delta region and four in the Central highlands.
The project was initiated by the Mekong River Committee with technical assistance provided by the World Meteorological Organisation. It has been put in place so that Vietnam can minimise damage to property and loss of life caused by floods and manage water sources in the Mekong River basin.

The project also enabled Vietnam to set up a system to collect and transmit hydrographical data throughout the basin.

The French Government has also sponsored 27 other hydrographical stations in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.-VNA