More than 7.5 million people in four cities, Nam Dinh, Hai Phong, CanTho and Ho Chi Minh City, have been the direct and indirectbeneficiaries of the Vietnam Urban Upgrading Project, which was carriedout over the past 10 years.

According to data released duringthe closing ceremony of the project organised in HCM City on December19, the project used 382.5 million USD from the World Bank through ODA(Official Development Assistance) loans, 140 million USD from theVietnamese Government and 30 million USD from the public.

KeikoSato, portfolio operations manager for the World Bank in Vietnam, saidinfrastructure improvements had opened up opportunities for the localresidents.

Speaking at a meeting of World Bank's officials andthe four city leaders on December 19, Keiko said the ODA funds had beenused very effectively.

Hoang Thi Hoa, a senior urban specialistat the World Bank, and the project's mission team leader, said projecttargets had been reached, changing the living conditions of millions ofpeople. The project's key indicators went beyond the initial targets,she added.

Poverty in the four participating cities fell by 20 to 80 percent between 2006 and 2014.

Since2004, 200 low-income areas have been upgraded, alleviating urbanpoverty for over 2.5 million people in low-income areas and indirectlybenefiting 5 million others.

About 500km of tertiary drainageand 580km road have been upgraded or newly built, helping to improve theenvironment and reduce flooding in the project areas.

It isestimated that 30,000 households were provided conditions to accessclean water, and 550,000 households were connected to the sewer system.

About95,000 micro-loans for house improvement and income generation wereprovided to households, with very high repayment rates and soundfinancial management.

According to data from the World Bank,most civil works and packages, with a total of 432 contracts in all fourcities, have been completed.

The project is now mainly focused on final disbursement and accounting.

Therehas been significant progress in cleaning up canals, particularly inHCM City and Can Tho, including minor pending civil works identified inthe previous mission.

In HCM City, the 13 contractors for theTan Hoa - Lo Gom Canal have completed most of the construction, exceptfor two packages, according to the report.

At the meeting, LeHoang Quan, Chairman of HCM City People's Committee, invited World Bankleaders and officials to attend the inauguration of Tan Hoa - Lo GomCanal sanitation project on March 15.

"HCM City wants World Banksupport for the implementation of the second phase of the Nhieu Loc –Thi Nghe, Tan Hoa – Lo Gom Canals projects, which will focus on wastewater treatment. With experience learned from implementing the projectsduring the past decade, I believe the projects' second phase will givemuch better results," Quan said.

The two canals, which run through 18 districts, have received much attention and priority from the Government and World Bank.

He said the projects had helped improve the living quality of residents and had met the World Bank's requirements.

"Sometimes, we think it's hard to overcome and finish projects due to so many challenges," Quan added.

Fiveyears ago, roughly eight kilometres of Tan Hoa – Lo Gom Canal was themost polluted canal in the city, affecting living conditions of fivemillion people.

The Nhieu Loc – Thi Nghe, Tan Hoa – Lo GomCanals run through 100 wards and communes of the city, with threemillion people living along them.-VNA