Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam will need to invest 20-30billion USD on water supply and drainage to make sure that 100% of thepopulation has access to clean water, according to experts.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment forecasts thatwater use demand by 2030 is about 122.47 billion cubic metre per year.

Urban development, discharge of untreated industrial wastewater,and use of fertilisers and pesticides in agriculture, are putting greatpressure on river basins, affecting clean water sources. This is particularlythe case for large cities where clean water sources are a concern.

Chairman of the Vietnam Water Supply and Sewerage Association NguyenNgoc Diep said Vietnam is a water-abundant country but it still confronts manyissues as a result of climate change, including saltwater intrusion, floods anddrought.

Water use in agricultural production, along with thousands ofirrigation and hydroelectric dams that ensure water source security posedeterioration and potential safety risks.

The online system for monitoring water consumption andexploitation will be maintained and operated by the Ministry of NaturalResources and Environment for approximately 600 projects by 2024. Additionally,it has encouraged the creation and use of digital maps for drought warning andforecasting.

Public health has been impacted by water contamination, andsocioeconomic growth has decreased. As this is happening, the majority ofwastewater in Vietnam is not treated before release into the environment.

Urban flooding has also grown to be a major issue, particularly inmajor cities like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Vinh and Da Lat.

Several streets in Hanoi and HCM City have remained submergedafter heavy rains in recent years. The National Centre for HydrometeorologicalForecasting consistently issues warnings about floods in metropolitan areas.

According to Diep, there are 750 clean water treatment facilitiesin Vietnam as of right now, with a combined capacity of over 1 million cubicmeters each day and night.

Up to 92% of people living in cities have access to clean water.

The country has nearly 410 industrial parks using and treatingwastewater with a capacity of 400,000cu.m per day and night.

There are 71 drainage and wastewater treatment enterprisesoperating 82 wastewater treatment plants.

Despite having a design capacity of one million cubic metres perday, the plants have only been used to a capacity of roughly 700,000cu.m perday.

The real wastewater collection rate is only about 60%, and thetreatment rate is only 17% of the approximately 80 operational wastewatertreatment projects, each having a capacity of more than two million cubicmeters per day and night.

Professor Nguyen Viet Anh, Director of the Institute ofEnvironmental Science and Engineering (University of Civil Engineering) said Vietnam’swater industry has faced too rapid urban development. Infrastructure cannotkeep up with growth, and essential water services fail to meet requirements.

He cited the Mekong Delta region as an example, where severalprovinces have had to establish water delivery systems upstream, kilometresaway from the province boundary, as another challenge brought about by climatechange.

“A lot of localities have to bring water from other places tosupply agricultural production and domestic water. This shows that thechallenge of climate change is increasingly fierce and present," he told yes8877.cc, sayingthat it is necessary to find new solutions to droughts and saltwater intrusion.

He said Vietnam still relies on ODA capital. The water sector isnot attractive for private sector investment due to low profits, although itbenefits society.

Diep, Chairman of the Vietnam Water Supply and SewerageAssociation, said in order for 100% of people to have clean water, Vietnam willhave to make a large investment of about 9 billion USD by 2030, a "verychallenging" issue for Vietnam when investment resources are stilllimited.

Anh said with current water resource challenges, in the next 10years, Vietnam's water industry will need to raise about 20-30 billion USD tomeet all water supply and drainage requirements, including clean water supplyprojects, and domestic and industrial wastewater treatment.

In order to develop a suitable policy framework, he advisedmanagers to do a thorough assessment of the value of water.

He stated that funding must be raised in order to invest in thisfield's infrastructure.

Halla Maher Qaddumi, a senior water economist at the World Bank, saidVietnam might lose 6% of its GDP every year until 2035. Water pollution alonemay cause a drop of 3.5% of GDP.

To resolve issues in the water sector, the World Bank said attractinginvestments from the private sector should be done to replace oldinfrastructure. To attract investments, the government needs to have strongfinancial policies and legal frameworks, Halla said./.