Main elements of the GTZ mission took place in close cooperation with a delegation of KfW (German Financial Cooperation) as well as with DED (German Development Service).

The main function of the Project Progress Review (PPR) was to learn from the experiences gained during the implementation of the evaluated programme. The lessons learned through the Programme Progress Review serve primarily to steer the programme and are particularly used in preparing the next phase.

The mission held working sessions with the responsible staff of the Ministry of Construction (MoC). As part of the empirical research, the team visited the waste water utilities and their respective local governments in Can Tho, Soc Trang, Tra Vinh, Bac Ninh and Hai Duong as well as the solid waste companies in Bac Ninh, Ha Dong and Son Tay. On October 12th and 13th, 2007, workshops were held with the candidate cities for the next phase, particularly Hung Yen, Lang Son, Hoa Binh (waste water) and Bac Ninh, Ha Dong and Son Tay (solid waste). The mission findings were presented and discussed during a workshop in Hanoi on October 15th, 2007. More information about the workshop, click here. 

1. Background

Viet Nam has experienced a high level of economic growth in recent years. The environmental protection has not managed to keep pace with the economic development. In the water and sanitation sector the level of access to services differ. According to the WHO-UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program (JMP) rural access to water supply and sanitation in 2002 are 68% and 26%, respectively. The corresponding access rates in urban areas are 93% to drinking water and 84% to sanitation. However, other studies have indicated lower levels of access ¹.

(1. Figures from Viet Nam MDG Report, Aril 2004 show figures of rural water & sanitation at 40% and 11.5% respectively, and urban water & sanitation at 76% and 68% respectively ).

German support to the waste water and solid waste sector in Viet Nam is therefore of particular importance for the implementation of the environmental protection strategy of the country. A number of projects have been successfully implemented or are under preparation. Since 2003 Germany is supporting Viet Nam in the build-up of waste water and solid waste infrastructure and in the improvement of the utilities’ management capacity in a number of provincial towns. These projects are or will be jointly implemented in the framework of Financial Cooperation (FC) through KfW and of Technical Cooperation (TC) through GTZ and DED

The TC/FC-Project “KV Waste Water Management in Provincial Urban Centres“ is implemented since February 2005 in the six provincial towns of Bac Ninh, Hai Duong, Vinh, Can Tho, Soc Trang and Tra Vinh (further on called “old cities”). All project measures are coordinated with KfW which at the same time is financing the investment projects for the improvement and ex-tension of the urban waste water and solid waste infrastructure including the construction of treatment plants. Future cooperation is foreseen for waste water improvement in the cities of Hung Yen, Lang Son, Hoa Bin (further on called “new cities”) and for solid waste management improvement in the urban cities of Ha Tay province (Ha Dong and Son Tay) and the city of Bac Ninh.

This concept is a contribution to the modern urban development.

In July 2005 MoC in its role as implementing agency for the TC-component presented a de-tailed draft request for “Capacity Development of Ministry of Construction in Waste Water and Solid Waste Management”. Activities carried out since April 2007 included the support to the preparation of Decree 88 on urban and industrial park water drainage and others.

2. Summary of Findings

2.1 Tabular Overview

2.2 Objectives and Indicators

Phase II of the TC Programme will contain 3 components including solid waste management, being the reason for the renaming of the programme into “KV Waste Water and Solid Waste Management in Provincial Urban Centres”. The overall objective and indicators had therefore to be redefined as follows:

Overall Objectives of the programme until 2013:

The conditions for sustainable sanitation and solid waste management are improved.

The Indicators for the overall objective are:

1. National ministries and relevant institutions utilize project experiences to formulate appro-priate regulations and standards in the sanitation and solid waste sector.

2. Revenues, based on cost covering tariffs (O&M and depreciation of short living assets), are being used by the waste water utilities to secure appropriate operation and maintenance of WW systems (“old cities”).

3. The customers in the project areas are aware about their rights and obligations with regard to waste water services (“old cities”).

4. Waste water and solid waste operators are providing services according to approved CDPs (“new cities”).

Objectives and indicators of the components were presented and discussed in the workshop of 15.10.07 in Hanoi. They are subject to review and need to be limited to a number of 3 or 4 indi-cators for each component. Their target values will be specified during year 1 of phase II con-sidering a realistic estimation on possible achievements. For component 3 (solid waste man-agement) the final selection of the beneficiary cities and verification of the indicators will be sub-ject to the result of the KfW supported feasibility study which will be elaborated for three provin-cial urban centres as from October 2007 onward.

The objectives and indicators of the 3 components for phase II are as follows:

Component 1: “Capacity Building of Ministry of Construction (MoC) in Waste Water and Solid Waste Management.”

Objective: Capacities of MoC and national stakeholders in the waste water and solid waste sector are improved.

Indicators:

• Information and knowledge management based on evaluation of ODA projects in the waste water and solid waste sector as well as further national, regional and international experiences are used for sector development

• MoC uses a monitoring system for continuous adjustment of sector policy

• Options of business models of waste water services are analyzed and national strategies elaborated/developed (incl. involvement of private sector and NGOs)

• The offered training increases the professional skills of MoC staff, relevant ministries, sector organisations and DoCs for fulfilling their respective tasks

Component 2: “Waste Water Management in Provincial Urban Centres.”

Objective:Waste water management in the supported provincial urban centres is improved.

Indicators:

• Revenues from waste water tariffs cover x % of operation and maintenance costs

• Utilities pursue the policy of commercialized service providers (customer orientation, ac-countability and cost efficiency)

• Asset management performance is secured through approved operation and mainte-nance plans

• CPCs provide budgets for selected activities of the implementation of corporate devel-opment plans

• DoNREs monitor and report the effluent discharge of waste water to receiving water bod-ies in accordance to regulations

• The awareness of communities on sanitation behaviour is increased

• Decision makers and professionals are aware and recommend implementation of decen-tralized sanitation concepts

Component 3:“Solid Waste Management in Provincial Urban Centres.”

Objective:Solid waste management for municipal and non-hazardous industrial waste is improved in selected cities.

Indicators:

• SWM service companies pursue the policy of business excellence (customer satisfaction and cost/ton of waste handled)

• Solid waste management follows approved plans (including projection of waste flow from separation to recovery and final disposal, financial conditions, legal compliance)

• Additional x% households and y% industries in the program locations have access to collection, recycling and disposal facilities

• Local authorities assume their roles in strategic planning, organizing inspection, exami-nation and handling of law violations (according to decree 59/2007)

The Programme is carried out with the Vietnamese partners in the framework of German De-velopment Cooperation. The Technical Cooperation is implemented by GTZ in cooperation with DED. Both partners will cooperate and coordinate their performance with the activities sup-ported by Financial Cooperation by KfW with the objective to harmonize the agreed time sched-ules for investment and construction procedures and technical support to the service providers.

The introduction of a monitoring system for sector reforms will be closely coordinated with the donors supporting the PRSC process.

A continued cooperation and information exchange is suggested with activities of other bi- and multilateral donors engaged in the relevant sectors (e.g. Word Bank, ADB, FINNIDA, DANIDA, NORAD, JICA).

2.3 Target group and Mediators

The target group of the programme is the entire population of the supported provincial urban centres living within the service areas of the waste water and solid waste service providers. The mediators are the advised professional personnel within the MoC, PPC and CPC, DoNRE, DoC and other state authorities and the managerial and professional staff of the waste water and solid waste service companies.

2.4 Political Partner and Implementing Agencies

The political partner of the program is the Ministry of Construction, represented by its Depart-ment for Urban Infrastructure. The Ministry of Construction assumes the prime responsibility for the state management of water drainage in urban centres and industrial parks and solid waste management.

Implementing agencies are for:

• Component 1: Ministry of Construction

• Component 2: The waste water service companies in the cities covered by the program

• Component 3: The solid waste service companies (URENCOs)

In order to adequately involve the owners of the waste water and solid waste utilities, the local governments of the respective provincial towns should be contractual partners of an implemen-tation agreement for Phase II.

2.5 Programme Location and Time Schedule

Waste water: The waste water management activities will be carried out in up to nine provincial urban centres of which six are the phase I cities and 3 will be defined according to the outcome of the KfW-supported feasibility studies. The six “old” cities are: Can Tho, Soc Trang, Tra Vinh, Vinh, Bac Ninh and Hai Duong. The “new” cities will probably be Hung Yen, Lang Son and Hoa Bin. It is proposed to start activities in the “new” cities as from January 2009.

Solid Waste:The final selection of the programme locations will depend on the outcome of the KfW-supported feasibility studies. The studies commenced in October 2007 and are meant for the following three cities: Ha Dong and Son Tay (Ha Tay province) and Bac Ninh (Bac Ninh province). The new solid waste treatment facility in Son Tay (SERAPHIN plant) shall be consid-ered for further planning in Ha Tay province.

A decision which of the cities will be selected or if one of the cities has to be excluded will be taken latest 6 months after the start of the feasibility studies. Activities for solid waste manage-ment will start in July 2008

The time schedule for the total duration of the Programme comprises 8 years (from February 2005 to January 2013), and consists of the following phases:

The activities on waste water and solid waste management will start in accordance with the results of the FC financed feasibility studies. As the FC investment programme for the “new” cities will only start in 2013 it is strongly recommended to extend the total implementation pe-riod of the TC support programme past January 2013.