HO CHI MINH CITY, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank (WB) and the State Bank of Vietnam on Monday signed agreements for loans and credits worth 560 million U.S. dollars for two projects to support urban development, climate resilience and sustainable livelihoods in the Mekong Delta.
Out of the total, 250 million U.S. dollars will be used for the Can Tho Urban Development and Resilience Project, to reduce flood risk and improve connectivity between Can Tho city center and the new urban areas, benefiting more than 420,000 urban dwellers, and enhance the capacity of city authorities to manage disaster risk, said the WB in Vietnam.
The remaining 310 million U.S. dollars will be ear-marked to boost climate resilience and ensure sustainable livelihoods of 1.2 million people living in nine Mekong Delta provinces affected by climate change, salinity intrusion, coastal erosion and flooding.
"Recent extreme weather phenomena in the Mekong River Delta, including flooding, drought and salinity intrusion, are negatively affecting the lives of people in the region - both in urban and rural areas, most of whom are poor," said Achim Fock, acting country director for the WB in Vietnam.
