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Children in HCMC’s outlying district of Can Gio takes a shower from a new source of clean water in this fi le photo. The World Bank has called for Vietnam to attract more private investment in water supply and waste treatment projects - PHOTO: TTXVN

At a review meeting of the Vietnam Development Partnership Forum in Hanoi on June 23, Kwakwa said Vietnam needs to improve the legal framework and draw up proper policies to encourage the private sector to build and operate water supply, drainage and waste treatment facilities.

This will create opportunities for the private sector to further participate in the market, make use of private capital and cope with State budget constraints, she explained.

According to the Ministry of Construction, as of last year, Vietnam had had 775 towns and cities of different levels. A high rate of urbanization, especially in big cities, has piled pressure on urban infrastructure.

The ministry said private sector investment in water supply and sanitation services has remained insignificant while efforts to equitize State-owned enterprises in this sector have not borne as good fruit as expected.

Vietnam currently has 86 water supply enterprises and nearly 500 water supply systems.

State-owned and private enterprises have invested in water projects, mainly in the field of clean water processing in big cities such as Vinaconex in the Da River water plant in Hanoi, other companies in Kenh Dong and Thu Duc plants in HCMC, Phu My plant in Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Di An plant in Binh Duong.

However, the Ministry of Construction said water supply projects with the involvement of private investors are small in terms of both scale and capacity.

A number of sewage projects have been developed by private enterprises under the build-operate (BT) model like the sewage plant for Tham Luong-Ben Cat area in HCMC, and Yen So and Ho Tay-Dam Bay wastewater treatment plants in Hanoi

Many provinces have called for private investments in solid waste treatment facilities. Thuy Phuong-Hue bio-fertilizer plant and Da Phuoc solid waste management plant are typical examples.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen The Phuong said 84.5% of Vietnam’s rural population has gained access to clean water and 62% of households have built standard toilets. The nationwide poverty rate in the country dropped from 58% in 1993 to 5.97% last year and the rate in mountainous area fell to 3-4%.