The programme, costing 32 million Euros, will be funded by the French Development Agency (AFD) in 3 years starting in 2009. About 5 to 15 projects to be carried out in these provinces and cities can get direct access to the programme’s credit.

Earlier, the European Union (EU) sponsored Euro3 million to help Mekong Delta provinces protect the environment with projects designed to train staff and buy equipment for environmental management, observation, forecast and protection.

Water supply in the region does not meet the demand of sdaily activities and commercial production. Annually, the urban areas discharge nearly 102 million cubic metres of waste water, 600,000 tonnes of solid waste and 47 million litres of liquid waste.