Capital needs millions for urban drainage
Hanoi needs US$666 million for its urban drainage system until 2015, according to recent reports.
Of the investment capital, US$476 million is expected from Official Development Assistance (ODA), US$61million from socialised capital and the remaining US$233million from State budget.
Accordingly, the city will fix current flooding points in inner districts by upgrading the drainage system, dredging local canals and building new sewers.
In the Nhue River basin, the city will build three sewage pumping stations at Co Nhue, Dong Bong 1 and Dong Bong 2 to address flooding problems.
The capital will be also used to upgrade and build reservoir lakes, pumping stations and canals in its suburbs.
According to Nguyen Le, director of Hanoi Drainage Company, the city's old sewage system is strained by its growing population. The city's current sewage system can only handle up to 50mm of rainfall per day, but during the wet season, the city can experience rainfall of 150mm per day.
The director said the inner city deals with 21 flooding points at the peak of the flooding season.