The EU and the French Development Agency (AFD) signed several agreements on December 1 to fund a project on improving urban infrastructure to mitigate climate change impact in four coastal provinces in north central Vietnam.

              A flooded road in Ha Tinh city of central Ha Tinh province in October

This project is provided with an EU grant of EUR5 million (US$6 million) and an AFD loan of EUR123 million. Another EUR28 million for project implementation will be sourced from the beneficiary provinces’ budget.

It will be carried out in five small flood-prone cities: Phat Diem in Ninh Binh, Ngoc Lac in Thanh Hoa, Hoang Mai in Nghe An, and Huong Khe and Thach Ha in Ha Tinh.

The project is set to promote safety and security for local people and minimise flood-triggered damage by improving flood prevention infrastructure and developing water drainage and dyke systems.

Roads will also be upgraded to serve the evacuation and rescue of flood-hit people.

Besides, the project is set to organise wastewater collection and treatment activities, improve local authorities’ capacity of ensuring the sustainability of their investments, and boost the localities’ sustainable development.

Central Vietnam has frequently suffered from extreme weather conditions, and back-to-back storms over the last two months have caused huge losses. Amid climate change, such extreme weather conditions may increase in terms of both intensity and frequency, according to the EU and AFD.