HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City is calling for investment to 17flood prevention and wastewater treatment projects, and needs more than 96trillion VND (4.12 billion USD) for the works from now to 2020.

Of the total, the city budget can ensure around 16 trillionVND (687 million USD), and the State budget will allocate 588 billion VND (25.2million USD), according to a report delivered at a conference calling for investmentto the city’s flood prevention and wastewater treatment solutions, which washeld by the municipal People’s Committee on August 9.

Tran Vinh Tuyen, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’sCommittee, said that there are many causes of flooding in the city. Therefore,it is necessary to find out the root cause so as to have a suitable solution.

To create favourable conditions for investors, the city willfocus on adjusting water drainage and flood prevention plans, and build a mapdemonstrating its flood situation.

“Municipal authorities hope domestic and foreign financialorganisations, investors and enterprises will work out solutions and invest inprojects following the public-private partnership form,” Tuyen stated. “Duringthe implementation process, the city commits openness and transparency”.

Nguyen Hoang Anh Dung, deputy director of the city’ssteering centre of urban flood control programmes, said the city’s master planon water drainage system approved by the Prime Minister in 2001 stipulates thatwith an area of 581.51 sq.km, the city needs 6,000km of sewers of all kinds.

However, at present, the sewer system has a total length ofonly 4,176km, or equal to 69.6 percent.

By 2020, the city also needs to build 12 wastewatertreatment plants with a total capacity of over 3 million cu.m per day. But nowconstruction only completes on Binh Hung plant with a capacity of 141,000 cu.mper day and Tham Luong plant with a capacity of 131,000 cu.m.

At the conference, participants also introduced and proposedseveral solutions and technologies to cope with flood and improve wastewatertreatment.

A study conducted by the National University of HCM City inDistrict 7 showed that the average annual loss from flooding was 13 million VND(565 USD) per household, 13.4 million VND (582 USD) per household business, and24 million VND (1,050 USD) per enterprise.

The cost includes repair of floors, walls and electricalequipment; dredging of drainage systems inside and outside the house; and timespent to move and repair belongings and furniture.

Companies incur additional costs because they lose aboutfour work days each year, according to the study.

Other losses include forced leave from work and lost time intraffic jams, all of which can reach up to the equivalent of a total of 90billion VND (3.94 million USD) per year.-VNA