Japan assists Vietnam in reservoir operation and effective flood management

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) signed a Grant Agreement in Hanoi on August 10 to provide a grant aid of over US$16.65 million for the Project “Emergency Reservoir Operation and Effective Flood Management Using Water related Disaster Management Information System”.

At the signing ceremony.

The US$18.2 million project is set to be implemented in 36 months since the grant aid was inked (from 2017 to 2020).

Specifically, the project will construct hydrological observation facilities to monitor the water levels of rivers and dams, and the rainfall in the basin of the Huong River, which flows through Central Vietnam. It will also construct a water-related disaster management information system to mitigate flood disasters in the general Huong River Basin.

Addressing the signing ceremony, MARD Deputy Minister Hoang Van Thang stated that between 2011 and 2015, the MARD and JICA piloted the design of a combined flood management plan in the basin of the Huong River in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue.

He expressed his hopes that this project will not only provide facilities in service of flood warning work in the basin of the Huong River, but also open up a new approach in terms of both technologies and practical measures in flood prevention and control. He also stated that the successful outcomes of the project will be replicated on a national scale.

Fujita Yasuo, JICA Chief Representative in Vietnam, asked the MARD to arrange the sufficient counterpart budget so that the project will be implemented on schedule and in a seamless manner.

Deputy Minister Thang requested the project management board to work closely with Japanese experts and relevant agencies to implement the project, aiming to meet the targets and expectations of the two Governments.

(Source: NDO)