VN-GEF-Coastal Cities Project

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The objective of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Coastal Cities Project in Vietnam is to pilot an innovative waste water treatment technology to reduce the discharge of pollutants from the city of Quy Nhon in Binh Dinh province into the Ha Thanh river and the Thi Nai marine lagoon connected thereto, thereby contributing to improving the health and habitat conditions of the marine and coastal ecosystems of Vietnam. There are three components to the project. The first component of the project is Construction of Chemically Enhanced Treatment Plant (CEPT). This component represents an innovative aspect of the project and has a high replication value throughout Vietnam and the region. The component consists of the construction of the CEPT plant with secondary treatment provided by trickling filters. The capacity of the plant will be 7,000 m3/d and it will serve about 60,000 people. The plant will be connected to a sewerage system financed under the International Development Association (IDA) Coastal Cities Environmental Sanitation Project (CCESP). The second component of the project is public communication and replication strategy. This component will include the following activities with the objective of reaching the largest possible number of interested parties: (i) organization of two workshops for practitioners and decision-makers on the technical, economic and environmental benefits of the new wastewater treatment technology; (ii) design and implementation of information campaigns on project goals and benefits of appropriate waste water treatment, as well as on local communities' role and responsibilities, including payment of user fees; and (iii) design and implementation of an environmental education program for local communities. The third component of the project is project management, monitoring and evaluation. This component will finance monitoring activities to measure and evaluate the GEF project outcomes. This includes, in particular, monitoring of the water quality in the Ha Thanh River (the discharge point for the wastewater treatment plant); the water quality in the Thi Nai Lagoon into which the Ha Thanh River flows; and the reductions in pollution delivered by the plant. All the other financial and performance monitoring/reporting, construction supervision, and other project management activities will be financed under the IDA project.