DECISION

RATIFYING THE ORIENTATION FOR THE DEVELOP-MENT OF NATIONAL URBAN WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM TILL THE YEAR 2020

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government of September 30, 1992;
At the proposal of the Minister of Construction in Report No.02/BXD-KTQH of February 7, 1998,

DECIDES:

Article 1.- To ratify the orientation for the development of national urban water supply system till the year 2020 with the following principal contents:

I. OBJECTIVES:

To set orientation for the development of the urban water supply system in service of the national industrialization and modernization; thereby draw up appropriate investment plans to develop the urban water supply systems in a stable and sustainable manner for each period.

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- To expand the scope and raise the quality of urban water supply services; to ensure that by the year 2000, 80% of the urban population shall be supplied with clean water with an average of 80-100 liters per head per day. For such major cities as Hanoi, Hai Phong and Ho Chi Minh City, to strive to supply clean water to 100% of the population with an average of 120-150 liters per head per day;

- To ensure the adequate supply of water for industrial, cultural and social activities in urban centers;

- To renovate and upgrade the water supply projects which are too old or have not yet achieved their designed capacities;

- To reduce the percentages of water loss and uncollected water charge down to 40% in the existing urban areas and 30% in new urban centers by the year 2000;

- To classify the water supply companies as public-utility enterprises; to step by step abolish the subsidy regime; to correctly and adequately calculate the water supply charges so as to cover the costs of construction and development investment;

- To restore the discipline in the urban water supply sector in all aspects, from technological processes, production, business, finance and services to the State management; to resolutely eliminate negative phenomena in the water supply sector; to step up the dissemination work and raise the people's intellectual level while imposing sanctions and fines according to law; to promote the mastery role of the people in the construction, management and use of the urban water supply system.

2. The long-term objectives:

- To conduct survey, prospection and exploitation in parallel with the protection of the national water resources, including: surface water, underground water, rivers, natural and artificial lakes in different areas, with attention being paid to urban centers in coastal areas, drought-stricken areas, mountainous and high-land areas and other areas with peculiar conditions;

To raise the quality of water supply services for the production and people's life in urban areas, to create conditions for water supply companies to operate with financial autonomy and at the same time fulfill their public utility obligations and tasks in service of social policies;

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- To train personnel and reform the management in line with the industrialization and modernization policy of the Party and the State; to enhance the capabilities of the consulting companies, making them fully capable of drawing up projects and designing water supply systems;

- To step up technical and scientific development, to intensify the application of new technologies through technology transfers, to modernize step by step the water supply system in urban centers;

- To step up investment in domestic manufacture of high-quality equipment, supplies and accessories which can be accepted by domestic and foreign markets;

- To apply the advanced standards, processes and norms; to integrate Vietnam's water supply sector into the regional countries in line with the open-door and international cooperation development policy of the Party and the Government.

II. THE MAJOR SOLUTIONS:

1. The rational exploitation and use and protection of water resources and environmental hygiene:

To meet the increasing water demand of the urban population and to ensure adequate water supply for production and socio-cultural activities in urban areas, there should be a program for further inspection, survey and concrete assessment of water resources on the basis of available documents; a planning for rational exploitation and use of water resources; and a strategy for water resource reserve.

It is necessary to carry out projects for combating the pollution of water resources and the consequences of the unplanned exploitation of underground water; to strictly control the sectional exploitation of water wells. For all water supply projects, there must be reports on the assessment of their impacts on the environment.

2. The reform of organizational structure of the water supply sector, from the central to grassroots levels:

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3. The renovation of financial policies and creation of capital sources for the urban water supply activities:

- To socialize the development of the urban water supply sector by mobilizing contributions from all economic sectors and the population; to access to the assistance and financial support of foreign governments and international organizations;

- To set new water supply charges, so as to ensure the financial autonomy for water supply companies and proceed to cover expenses for waste water drainage in urban areas.

4. The technological modernization and manufacture of equipment and supplies:

To apply modern technologies to the water supply systems in such major cities as Hanoi, Hai Phong and Ho Chi Minh City, new urban centers, industrial parks, export processing zones, tourist sites as well as service and trade centers.

To apply appropriate and widely used technologies in various localities in close combination with the existing projects in order to renovate and upgrade the water supply system to meet the urgent needs and make full use of domestic equipment, facilities and supplies, thus reducing investment costs.

The technologies and equipment in the water supply systems must be synchronous and uniform so that their parts can be easily replaced.

5. The development of human resources and training of officials and employees:

To work out the program for the comprehensive training of personnel from leading officials, managerial, scientific, technical, economic and financial personnel to operators, maintenance workers of the water supply sector; to enhance and strengthen capabilities of the schools and establishments for training of specialists of the water supply sector. On the other hand, to work out policies in order to encourage and stimulate the contributions of Vietnamese experts residing and working in foreign countries.

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Article 2.- The Ministry of Construction shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Health and the concerned ministries and branches in materializing the orientation for the development of the urban water supply system, concretizing the orientation's contents and drawing up immediate and long-term plans so as to ensure the effective implementation of the program for construction investment and development of the national urban water supply system.

Article 3.- This Decision takes effect after its signing. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government and the presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government shall have to implement this Decision.

THE PRIME MINISTER OF GOVERNMENT
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER




Ngo Xuan Loc