Cooperation with Public Utility in Nghe An / Vietnam

Urban sewerage collection and treatment systems in many of Vietnam’s rapidly growing cities have received substantial investments over the past two decades. However, more than often the mostly donor financed projects have failed to address the often desolate conditions of the small scale (tertiary) sewerage collection systems in the dense urban centers. On institutional levels, operational and maintenance responsibilities for tertiary sewers in almost all cities in Vietnam remain un-regulated, budgets for regular and preventive cleaning and maintenance are not provided by authorities. This results in insufficient amounts of wastewater entering newly constructed sewerage systems; treatment plants often receive insufficient pollutant inflow to efficiently operate their biological treatment stages. Additionally, solid waste that accumulates in and around the tertiary sewers enter larger sewers during heavy rainfall events, causing operational interruptions through sewer congestion.

To address this problem, WSI now collaborates with the wastewater operator of Vinh city, Vinh City Infrastructure Development and Management JSC (INFRAVI), to implement a house connection campaign in a selected residential area of the city. The project foresees to clean and rehabilitate the tertiary sewers as well as to connect all adjacent households in the area. Lessons learned shall be documented and a proposal for scaling-up to the entire city will be submitted to urban authorities and donors. The project is scheduled to be finalized by the end of 2019.