Viet Nam’s Ministry of Finance and the French Development Agency (AFD) have exchanged two financial cooperation agreements worth more than 41 million EUR (48.6 million USD) to support an integrated water resources management project in the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien.
The agreements were exchanged at the Élysée Palace in Paris in the presence of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam Central Committee and President To Lam and French President Emmanuel Macron, the Ministry of Finance said.
Minister of Finance Ngo Van Tuan and AFD Chief Executive Officer Christophe Lecourtier exchanged the agreements, comprising an AFD loan and a grant from the WARM Fund, which is managed by AFD.
The project on integrated water resources management for livelihoods, climate change adaptation and socio-economic development will be implemented in Tuan Giao, Dien Bien province.
The Dien Bien provincial People’s Committee will serve as the project’s managing authority, while the provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment will be the project owner.
The agreements include a 39.828 million EUR (46.8 million USD) loan and a 1.5 million EUR (1.8 million USD) non-refundable grant.
The project proposal was approved by the Prime Minister in August 2024. Its investment policy was subsequently approved by the Dien Bien provincial People’s Council, while the project itself was approved by the provincial People’s Committee.
Under the approved plan, the project has a total investment of nearly 1.39 trillion VND (52.8 million USD), including 39.83 million EUR in AFD financing, 1.5 million EUR in non-refundable aid and 312.52 billion VND (11.9 million USD) in counterpart funding.
The project aims to improve the management and efficient use of water resources and strengthen water regulation between river basins, helping secure water supplies for production and daily life while improving resilience to drought, erosion, flooding and climate change.
Once completed, it is expected to provide a stable water supply for about 35,000 people and 21,000 hectares of agricultural land in Tuan Giao.
The project will also upgrade irrigation infrastructure and water regulation networks, supporting agricultural production, expanding areas devoted to perennial industrial crops and contributing to environmental protection.
