ASEAN faces challenges in water supply, waste treatment
ASEAN countries are facing big challenges from water supply and wastewater treatments, said Nguyen Tuong Van, Executive Director of the Southeast Asian Water Utilities Network (SEAWUN) at a water forum in Ho Chi Minh City on October 17.
According to Van, the average rate of water supply in Southeast Asian countries is only 30%.
About 1.74 billion Asian people have yet to access water drainage services, 69% of whom are in Southeast Asia, Van added.
At the event, titled “ASEAN Water Forum - Promoting Sustainable Investment”, the SEAWUN leader further noted that the rate of water loss in the region remains high at 35%.
Meanwhile, the rate of wastewater treatment before disposal is low, at 38% compared to 85% in developed countries, Van said.
To cope with these challenges, the governments of ASEAN member countries need to mobilise all available resources from the private economic sector in the form of public-private partnerships (PPPs) to tackle the problem, Van noted.
At the forum, Lain Menzies, senior expert on water supply and sanitation of the World Bank’s East Asia-Pacific, said that the number of PPP projects in water supply and drainage among ASEAN countries remains limited.
Thus, the countries should diversify the forms of investment in the field.
The forum brought together experts from Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Germany and Finland to share experience.