Mekong Delta to Implement Switzerland-funded EUR5.5M Flood Control Project

Three Mekong Delta provinces of An Giang, Kien Giang and Ca Mau will carry out a flood control project with total investment of EUR5.5 million ($5.8 million) in the 2017-2019 period, state media has reported. Of the amount, the Swiss government would offer the grant through the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the Vietnamese side will provide a reciprocal amount of around EUR500,000 for the project. Last week, the Technical Infrastructure Agency of Vietnam’s Ministry of Construction, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the German development agency GIZ held a workshop titled “Starting Mekong drainage and flood mitigation program” as part of the project. Three cities in Ca Mau, An Giang and Kien Giang, namely Ca Mau, Long Xuyen and Rach Gia, were selected to implement the project which has the overall objective to enhance adaptability to climate change, and protect people’s assets and income from urban inundation in the Mekong Delta, particularly the three provinces under the project. There will be three main components, with integrated urban and drainage planning as the first. This component will support the making of rules to address flooding and climate change, and integrate flood risk management into urban planning and local plans. The second component is flood risk analysis and planning assistance, which will help with modeling, flood risk assessment, and review and adjustment of existing urban planning. The third is disaster risk management. This component will aid the establishment of early flood warning systems, and water level measurement to collect, analyze and evaluate information and update urban flood control plans. Participants in the workshop underscored the need to implement the project, saying it would help localities review the current status of their drainage systems and work out measures to cope with growing flooding in urban areas. Le Quoc Anh, deputy director of the Department of Construction of Kien Giang, said the existing drainage infrastructure was built long ago, so flooding could occur when it rained heavily or when there were high tides. In addition, there is a lot of sludge in the sewers, making it hard for drainage. (VietnamNet Apr 5, Saigon Times Mar 30)