WB helps Can Tho improve water supply services

Speaking at the event, WB’s senior expert on water and hygiene system Gerard Soppe said the programme is part of the third joint WB-Can Tho project on urban upgrade which was approved in January this year. 

Under the programme, the Can Tho Water Supply and Drainage Company will receive help to improve water supply at reasonable costs and in a sustainable way. 

This year, the WB will work with the global strategy consulting firm Castalia to collect quantitative data on the Can Tho Water Supply and Drainage Company’s operating mechanism, thereby seeking measures to renovate its operations. 

It aims to extend water supply to new urban clusters and remote areas, help local authorities choose water distribution plans for short and mid-term, upgrade wastewater treatment facilities and propose optimal solutions to wastewater treatment. 

In order to ensure fresh water for production and cultivation, WB experts will assist Can Tho in designing a monitor system to provide early forecast on drought and salinisation, as well as offer new farming technique transfer to farmers to help them switch to plants requiring less water than rice. 

The WB suggested launching a rainwater collecting model which has been successful in Southeast Asia in response to drought, saltwater intrusion and the shortage of fresh water for daily use as the dry season is coming. 

WB experts will take fact-finding trips to venues designated to supply water to a Mekong Delta water supply plant in Thoi An ward, O Mon district, Can Tho city. The plant is scheduled for construction in 2019 at a cost of 400 million USD funded by the WB. 

Vice Chairwoman of the Can Tho municipal People’s Committee Vo Thi Hong Anh committed all possible support to the programme and hoped to receive foreign experts’ support for the rainwater collecting model. 

The programme will be piloted in Can Tho, then spread across the southwestern region.