ADB supports Vietnam’s development of green, resilient urban infrastructure

The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Board of Directors yesterday approved $170 million in loans to help the Government of Vietnam upgrade urban infrastructure and address climate change, benefiting about 116,000 households in Hue, Vinh Yen, and Ha Giang provinces.
ADB supports Vietnam’s development of green, resilient urban infrastructure
More than 30 million people live in urban centers in Vietnam, but the impact of urbanization is uneven across the country. Unlike the capital Hanoi and other highly developed urban centers, secondary cities—with populations between 50,000 to 300,000—such as Hue in central Vietnam and Vinh Yen and Ha Giang in the northern part of the country are lagging behind.
For instance, less than 60 percent of households in secondary cities have access to clean water and only 10 percent of wastewater is treated properly.
The Secondary Green Cities Development Project will help make these urban centers become more livable, environmentally friendly, and climate-resilient. For Vinh Yen, the project will construct a new wastewater treatment system, upgrade 66.1 kilometers (km) of drainage control, dredge the Dam Vac lake, and develop 44.5 hectares (ha) of new public green space.
In Hue, the project will upgrade 21.9 km of drainage pipelines, rehabilitate 15.9 km of road surface and drainage, and develop 17.2 ha of green spaces, among others. In Ha Giang, the project will upgrade about 7 km of urban drainage, protect 5.6 km of river embankments, and enhance the road urban network through a 6.2 km road and a 150-meter bridge to divert increasing traffic.
Apart from the loans, ADB will also administer a total of $14.1 million in technical assistance (TA)—with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment—and $6 million in grant investment from the Global Environment Facility and the Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund.
The TA will mainstream a green and resilient city development approach across government agencies through policy advice and capacity building, and replicate the approach in other cities in Vietnam.

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