The Prime Minister has decided to provide an additional VND4 trillion ($166 million) from the State budget for Mekong Delta localities to prevent riverbank and coastal erosion.

Localities include Can Tho city and Long An, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh, Vinh Long, Hau Giang, Soc Trang, An Giang, Dong Thap, Kien Giang, Bac Lieu, and Ca Mau provinces.

The Prime Minister has asked the People’s Committees of these localities to allocate the assigned capital to projects on riverbank and coastal erosion prevention and control in line with regulations.

They are also required to use local budget funds and to mobilize capital from other sources to have sufficient capital to complete projects on schedule and improve investment efficiency.

Project implementation results must be periodically reported to relevant ministries and the Prime Minister.

According to local reports, the impact of climate change leading to rising sea levels, land subsidence, and extreme weather events has worsened landslides and riverbank and coastal erosion in the Mekong Delta.

With a dense network of rivers and canals and a coastline of over 740 km, since 2016 the cities and provinces in the Delta have reported 779 landslide areas with a total length of 1,134 km, including 666 riverbank spots (744 km) and 113 coastal spots (390 km).