Speaking at the ceremony, chief representative of JICA Sugano Yuichi said the association believes that the completion of the two projects will contribute to decreasing water pollution and significantly reduce flooding in the south of ​​Ho Chi Minh City.

The Water Environment Improvement Project (phase 1) started in 2001, when JICA supported the construction of a wastewater treatment system in the Tau Hu - Ben Nghe canal basin. The project was completed in 2009 with a capacity of 141,000cu.m per day, and East-West Avenue (later renamed Vo Van Kiet Avenue), which includes Thu Thiem tunnel under the Saigon River, helping to significantly improve the traffic landscape and the city's environment.

Phase 2 of the project expands the wastewater collection and treatment network in the Tau Hu canal basin, covering 2,500 hectares and a population of about 1.8 million people. The project has a total investment of VND11.3 trillion (approximately $470.8 million), of which Japanese official development assistance (ODA) covers VND9.85 trillion ($410 million) (accounting for 87 per cent). The project was completed with a wastewater treatment capacity of 469,000cu.m per day, an increase of three times compared to phase 1.

Japanese water treatment machines such as air blowers, centrifugal dewatering machines, and sludge scrapers have been installed in the factory. In addition, a sewer network of 51km has been built, of which over half used Japanese underground jacking technology.

The project also has three stormwater drainage pumping stations and canal embankments stretching 6.4km. Binh Hung wastewater treatment plant is the largest in operation in Vietnam.

In Ho Chi Minh City, flooding of main roads during the rainy season and water pollution in rivers, lakes and canals are a vexing problem that is becoming increasingly widespread, caused by pressure from population growth. The local wastewater treatment system still has many shortcomings, so improving drainage is an urgent matter that needs to be prioritised.

JICA prioritises implementing cooperation projects in four areas: high-quality infrastructure, human resource development, healthcare, and coping with climate change.

In the Mekong River region, an area vulnerable to the effects of climate change, JICA is implementing technical cooperation at Can Tho University, the cradle of regional development, with the goal of improving teaching and research quality. In Ben Tre province, JICA is conducting loan cooperation to build sluice gates to protect agricultural production from the impacts of saltwater intrusion.

Yuichi said that the drainage industry will remain a key area for ​​JICA's ODA cooperation in Vietnam for many years to come.

“We have helped to improve the water environment in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Haiphong, Hue, Binh Duong and other areas. JICA provides loans and offers grants and technical cooperation to support various industry programmes,” he added.

JICA also considers an integrated approach to combine not only wastewater and sewage treatment but also flood prevention, climate change adaptation, and saline intrusion prevention.

On a macro level, JICA is supporting the Ministry of Construction to build a legal basis for effective planning and management of drainage services through the development of the first water supply and drainage law, expected to be approved in 2025.