ADB to provide $130 mln for key infrastructure projects in Mekong Delta city

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to provide loans of $130.3 million for the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho to invest in key transport infrastructure development with climate change adaptation.

At a working session between the ADB and Can Tho authorities on Wednesday, the municipality said an additional $69.3 million would be contributed by the local budget for the project, which is slated for 2023-2030.

Can Tho is one of the country’s five centrally-run cities, together with Hanoi and Hai Phong in the north, Danang in the central region, and Ho Chi Minh City in the south.

The project on transport infrastructure development with climate change adaptation will include new overpasses at five key crossroads in the southern city with investment of $85.5 million, including 79.8% from the ADB.

A 7.6-kilometer extension to Tran Hoang Na road with an investment of $71.3 million, including 55.6% from the ADB, will also be built. The construction of the 5.15-kilometer Hem 91 road has an investment of $42.8 million, with 52.6% from the bank.

Vice Chairman of Can Tho Nguyen Van Hong also asked the ADB for support at the Cai Sau 1 wastewater treatment plant, which entered operation in 2018. The daily capacity of the plant could quadruple from 30,000 cubic meters to 120,000 cubic meters under a project with investment of VND1.54 trillion ($65.52 million).

Hong also urged the ADB to implement a $200,000 package of technical assistance for integrating two projects on green growth and climate change adaptation.

Can Tho is the most developed locality in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. The city recorded gross regional domestic product growth of 4.02% in the first quarter of this year, above the country's average of 3.32%, according to the municipal statistics office. It is the agricultural hub of the Mekong Delta and Vietnam.

The Mekong Delta accounted for 33.54% of the national agricultural sector's GDP contribution from 2004-2020, according to the agriculture ministry. In 2020, the region topped the country’s output of rice at 24.51 million tons, or 56% of the total; 617,700 tons of shrimp (83.51%); 1.14 million tons of pangasius (98%); and 4.3 million tons of fruit (60%).