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Danish businesses keen to help Vietnam with water supply
Challenges and pressures building up on Vietnam’s urban water supply system are opportunities for the nation to enhance cooperation with Denmark, a senior environmental official said.
At a conference on urban water supply in Hanoi on March 29, Deputy Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Nguyen Thai Lai said only 70 percent of the nation’s urban population have access to clean water and the rate of water loss in the system still stands at 30-40 percent. In the meantime, irregular upgrading of waste water systems has resulted in high risks of environmental pollution to water resources.
Vietnam’s water resource reserves and quality are degrading in the context of rapid socio-economic development and the impact of climate change, he said.
Director of the Grontmij Carl Bro Vietnam branch John Rockhold made an objective assessment of Vietnam’s water supply in the past 10 years.
He said there were many prospects and opportunities for Danish companies to cooperate and invest in the water supply and treatment sector, particularly with private partners in real estate and industrial zone construction.
The conference drew the participation of representatives from 11 Danish companies operating in the urban water and wastewater treatment sector. Their visit to Vietnam is part of Vietnam-Denmark Water Days 2011 being held in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City from March 28 to April 1.
In December 2010, the first waste water treatment plant with a daily filtering capacity of 7,400 cu.m under the European standard was inaugurated in Da Lat, within the framework of a cooperation project between the Vietnamese and Danish governments.
VOV, VNA
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