On 30 October 2014, Vietnam’s prime minister approved the construction of 51 wastewater treatment plants in the Dong Nai River basin by 2030. The combined capacity of the plants will reach 2.5 million m3/d by 2020 and 4.2 million m3/d by 2030. Eleven plants will be built in Ho Chi Mihn City, nine in Dong Nai, six in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, five in Long An, Tay Ninh, and Binh Thuan provinces, four in Lam Dong, and one in Binh Duong Province.
The first phase will cost US$4.65 billion for construction of drainage systems and 30 treatment plants– 13 for domestic wastewater and 17 for industrial wastewater– with a combined capacity of 240,000 m3/d. The second phase will require US$3.24 billion between 2020 and 2030.
This government-driven initiative represents a significant ramp-up in spending on wastewater infrastructure in Vietnam. In the past 10 years, annual investment in the sanitation sector was US$150 million, whereas this will represent an average annual investment of US$493 million.
Bluefield Takeaways
- Unmet demand for wastewater infrastructure drives investment in Vietnam
- Multi-lateral finance, private investment tapped to fund the build-out in wastewater infrastructure
- Lack of domestic expertise creates opportunity for international firms
