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Italy's $15 mln loan to help Vietnam tackle flooding, sanitation issues

By Dam Tuan October 20, 2016 | 08:22 pm PT

Funding will go to a flood forecasting system for the central region and a waste treatment project in the south.

The Italian government has agreed to provide preferential loans totaling 13.7 million euros, or nearly $15 million, to help Vietnam improve flood forecasting and waste treatment.

Under a new memorandum of understanding signed by the two governments in Hanoi earlier this week, the European country has promised to fund two projects.

The first, which will receive a loan of 4 million euros, will strengthen the capacity of Vietnam’s flood forecasting and early warning system in the central region.

The second loan worth 9.7 million euros will go to a project to improve sanitation and waste treatment in the southern province of Tay Ninh, around 100 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City.

Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Cecilia Piccioni said that the projects reaffirm the commitment of the two countries to coping with climate change and urban management challenges and to achieving sustainable development goals.

Over the years, Italy has pledged more than 100 million euros worth of funding for various public projects in Vietnam in the sectors of environment, healthcare and education.