Urban areas have been becoming a motivation for development and the pillars of the economy, society and culture of many regions in Vietnam. In recent years, cities in the Mekong Delta have also grown rapidly and played a very important role in socio-economic development of the region and the whole country.

 

According to Switzerland’s Economic Development Cooperation (SECO), the Mekong Delta is a crucial area for food security and sustainable socio-economic development of Vietnam, where 20% of Vietnamese people reside. The Mekong Delta, however, is also significantly affected by climate change. Rapid urbanization and the impacts of inundation, landslides, subsidence and saltwater intrusion have accelerated the vulnerability of urban areas in the Mekong Delta.

 

The German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) has conducted surveys on infrastructure investment needs, and simultaneously assessed the status quo of sustainable urban development in 13 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta. GIZ recognizes the gaps between planning and implementation in urban areas which limit investment efficiency in fields such as riverbank erosion, water drainage and urban flood control.

 

Many experts believe that the urban infrastructure in the Mekong Delta has been improved  significantly. However, investment in developing essential infrastructure in many places remains slow. In addition, connectivity, continuity, uniformity and rationality are still limited.

 

Therefore, the efficiency of infrastructure investment is not high and not yet adapted to the impacts of natural disasters and climate change. As a result, integrated and sustainable urban development planning is required to be more concerned, especially urban infrastructure development planning which needs emphasizing and integrating in national, regional and local planning.

 

Thinking, methods and contents of planning have fundamentally been changed, and planning integration is the core requirement. Planning becomes an important tool to allocate resources according to market mechanisms and to mobilize social resources for development investment, as well as to manage development investment in each locality, each region and the whole country. Integrated and multidisciplinary planning helps ensure consistency, practical effectiveness and simultaneously helps manage development in a synchronized manner.

 

As stated by Deputy Director of the Planning Management Department under the Ministry of Planning and Investment Dinh Thanh Tam, GIZ has cooperated with the ministry to deploy a group of experts to review difficulties and obstacles in the planning process. As a result, elements such as climate change response and gender equality are taken into consideration when researching and developing guidance documents for the planning of the Mekong Delta. Building up a set of criteria for the assessment of planning quality will also be conducted.

 

With support from the German Government and the Swiss Government, GIZ has also collaborated with SECO, the Ministry of Construction and other localities in the Mekong Delta to implement the Urban Drainage and Flood Control Program in order to cope with climate change.

 

Dr. Tim McGrath, Program Director, said the new program would make continuous efforts to support the concerned ministries, the Mekong Delta Coordinating Council, and provinces, cities here in effectively implementing the Mekong Delta region planning, especially in sustainable urban development.

 

KHANH TRUNG (Translated by HONG NHUNG)