EUR156 million to support small urban areas’ resilience in north-central Vietnam

Jointly co-financed with a EUR5 million grant from the EU, an EUR123 million ODA loan from the AFD and EUR28 million from provincial budgets, the CRUIV project will benefit five urban areas of the north-central region of Vietnam: Phat Diem in Ninh Binh province, Ngoc Lac in Thanh Hoa province, Hoang Mai in Nghe An province, Huong Khe and Thach Ha in Ha Tinh province, that all share common challenges related to flood risk exposure. 

The main objective of the project is to increase the resilience to natural disasters and climate change impacts of the five urban areas and their population. 

The CRUIV project aims in particular at enhancing the safety and security of individuals and reducing material losses caused by floods, through the improvement of flood risk prevention infrastructure, such as reinforced drainage networks, and protection of dikes; upgrading service roads, especially those allowing effective evacuations and rescue operations of people directly affected by flood events; developing and organizing wastewater collection and treatment in order to improve the local environment; strengthening capacities of urban administrations and agencies in ensuring the investments’ sustainability, enhancing management and services efficiency, and promoting sustainable urban development, that tackles the issues of a growing urban population, with rising living standards, on vulnerable and exposed land. 

EU Ambassador to Vietnam Giorgio Aliberti said that this important program is perfectly in line with Vietnam’s long term needs and AFD’s mandate in Vietnam, as its operations aim at supporting the implementation of the Paris Agreement, in particular through building the resilience of vulnerable cities and territories. 

Vietnam is one of the countries the most severely affected by climate change and natural disasters. Rising temperatures and sea levels, and the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, combined with population growth and urbanization are increasing the risk of coastal erosion, urban flooding and drought. Consistent with their international commitments on climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals, the EU and AFD are actively supporting Vietnam in the areas of climate change mitigation and adaptation./.