November 17, 2023, the Vinh Long Provincial People's Committee had a working session with the French Development Agency (AFD) about the “Flood, salt intrusion and river erosion protection” project in Vinh Long province.

The workshop aimed to present the feasibility study results and recommendations of the consulting agency to the provincial management unit on the project preparation financed by AFD and the investment proposal to be submitted for approval to the Prime Minister. The workshop also aimed to reach consensus between the two parties on the next stages until the agreement is signed. 

Overview of the workshop 

At the workshop, Mr. Hervé Conan, Director of AFD Vietnam, shared the final FS results of the project. Accordingly, the project meets the donor's criteria regarding climate change adaptation, saltwater intrusion, flood control, etc.

AFD delegation also proposed a project implementation plan, a financial plan, investment project information, and the works required for all parties toward agreement signing.

AFD at the workshop 

“Flood, salt intrusion and river erosion protection” project in Vinh Long province (phase 2) includes two components:

• Component 1: Investment in construction of technical infrastructure.
• Component 2: Technical support activities and non-structural solutions.

Total investment is approximately 4,156 billion VND, financed by AFD's loans and EU's grant through the Water and Natural Resources Management Facility (WARM Facility) and local counterpart budget.

Representatives of departments and agencies of Vinh Long province shared information, such as solutions to restore livelihoods for affected households, solutions to conserve and ensure greenery at the construction site, connection and synchronization with the irrigation infrastructure system in the project area, long-term solutions to improve the efficiency of operating the irrigation and agricultural system in the province, the depreciation of the Euro against the Vietnamese Dong.

Representatives of provincial People's Committee, departments and agencies of Vinh Long province
 

At the end of the workshop, the two parties agreed to quickly complete the project's investment proposal document to be submitted to the Prime Minister for approval. Provincial leaders also requested that the provincial departments and agencies continue to study the recommendations of the consulting agency and AFD working group, discuss, explain and clarify recommendations in accordance with reality and legal regulations to reach consensus on issues proposed and recommended by the consulting agency and the AFD working group. At the same time, AFD is requested to have a memorandum of understanding about this mission to serve as a basis for completing the project investment proposal document to ensure efficiency, punctuality and achieve the highest feasibility.