According to Ms. Phan Thi My Linh, Deputy Minister of Construction, in the recent years, the Mekong Delta region has stood for the severe effects of climate change and faced salt intrusion. Especially, in the early 2016, 10 out of 13 provinces and cities have been impacted by saline intrusion and acid sulphate intrusion, with the rate on the increase, exceeding the predicted scenario. This causes the lack of clean water for nearly 230.000 people.

According to the Deputy Minister of Construction, from the unpredictable changes of climate change, the Government has assigned the Ministry of Construction to consider and adjust the issues related to review the infrastructure by adjusting the planning in the Mekong Delta as well as on the safe water supply in each locality here.

Last time, the Ministry of Construction and the World Bank carried out a survey of the need to use water of the localities in the region. Up to now, the World Bank has committed USD 400 million loan to invest the project in Phase 1.

The project on safe water supply in the Mekong Delta consists of 7 provinces and cities in the Southwest of Hau River (Can Tho city, Hau Giang, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau provinces and a part of Kien Giang, An Giang provinces), with an area of more than 24 square kilometers and the population (in 2016) is 9.4 million. The total investment of the project is estimated at USD 1.7 billion.

It is expected that raw water will be taken from the Hau River and then processed and circulated clean water to 7 water supply companies, wholesale buying units through the transmission pipeline network. The treated water in the regional water supply system may be bought by the provincial water supply company for retail distribution to local customers.