The WB-funded Vinh Long City Urban Development and Enhanced Climate Resilience Project is launched on June 7. (Photo: VNA)Addressing the project’s launching ceremony on June 7, HoangThi Hoa, Senior Urban Specialist at WB Vietnam Office, said Vinh Long City,strategically located along the economic corridor that connects Ho Chi MinhCity to the Mekong Delta, has great potential to become a regional hub foragribusiness, trade, and tourism.
However, flooding and poor environmental sanitation aremajor impediments holding back the city’s development, she said, adding that locatedat a low elevation on the Tien River plain, about 60 percent of the city isprone to flooding.
The Vinh Long project will help remove physical constraints to development in theurban core area through the development of flood control systems, drainage,wastewater collection and treatment, and investment in key urban roads.
Strengthening urban infrastructure is key to Vinh Long’sability to unlock its potential, safeguard its gains and withstand multipleshocks from climate change, Hoa said.
It has a total investment of 202.2 million USD, including126.9 million USD worth of credit provided by WB and 19.5 million USD as non-refundable grant from the Dutch Government.
Nearly half of the project’s funding will be used to developflood risk mitigation measures, including embankments and tidal sluice gates,rehabilitation and upgrades of the canal and drainage system, and investmentsin green infrastructure.
The project will also support the building of threestrategic roads that will improve the inter-city connectivity and furtherenhance the city’s flood protection capacity.
Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Lu Quang Ngoisaid the project will contribute to boosting the province’s development in thecoming time and transforming Vinh Long City into a second-class city./.
VNA
