World Bank to Fund $385M for Climate Resilience in Vietnam

The World Bank (WB) will finance $385 million to Vietnam in improving capacity to adapt to climate change by upgrading smart infrastructure in Mekong delta and promoting livelihood in rural areas. Under the Mekong Delta Integrated Climate Resilience and Sustainable Livelihoods Project which has been approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the WB will shoulder with Vietnam in a six-year climate resilience project in the southern region – the country’s hardest-hit areas. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Ministry of Planning and Investment will cooperate with authorities in An Giang, Kien Giang, Dong Thap, BenTre, Tra Vinh, Vinh Long, Soc Trang, Ca Mau, and Bac Lieu to implement the project. It will focus on monitoring and managing floods in the upper part of the delta, adapting to salinization in the estuary areas, and protecting coastal areas. ABC Australia has said that Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam is one of the world’s most vulnerable cities to climate change and that other Vietnamese cities are also at risk to climate impacts such as severe flooding. (Lao Dong - Labor May 5, Vietnamplus.vn May 5)