• Project will benefit 114,000 households in eight towns
HANOI, Vietnam, Jan. 6, 2009 -- Black & Veatch, a leading global engineering, consulting and construction company, announced it has commenced working on the Central Region Small and Medium Towns Development Project.
The company recently signed an agreement with the Government of Vietnam to provide consulting services for the project, which will make important investments in water supply, wastewater and drainage and solid waste infrastructure.
The project benefits approximately 114,000 households in eight towns located in five provinces of the Central Region of Vietnam. The region is an impoverished area with small- and medium-sized towns needing additional investment in important water infrastructure. Consequently, waterways have been polluted, flooding events occur regularly, with higher incidence of waterborne diseases and unhygienic conditions. The rapid urbanization of Vietnam and transformation from an agricultural to an industrial economy is also increasing the demand placed on inadequate infrastructure.
"This is the second major urban infrastructure improvement project we are working on in the Central Region of Vietnam, the third such project in the country and the fourth major project overall," said Ralph Eberts, Senior Managing Director of Black & Veatch's Asia Pacific water business. "We're very proud of the difference we are making to communities across Vietnam. It is also a great way to start 2009, which marks the twentieth anniversary of Black & Veatch working in the country."
In addition to the infrastructure investments, a community environmental sanitation and awareness component of the project will promote the importance of good environmental hygiene and improve access to sanitation services. A project management and institutional strengthening component will develop an action plan to ensure improved and sustained delivery of water supply and sanitation services. The component will also strengthen national tariff policies to reduce the need for government subsidies, support performance benchmarking and strengthen utility networks.
The project is being funded by the Asian Development Bank and the Government of Vietnam and will be implemented over a period of five years.
Black & Veatch is a leading global engineering, consulting and construction company specializing in infrastructure development in energy, water, telecommunications, management consulting, federal and environmental markets.
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