Three members of a family get clean water from a tap in Bu Ren commune, in the southern province of Binh Phuoc. (Photo: VNA)Datarevealed at a conference in Hanoi on April 26 showed that only 84.2 percent ofpeople in urban areas have access to clean water. That number is just 34.8 percentin rural areas.
The targetwas set under Resolution No. 16/2021/QH15, as part of the five-yearsocio-economic development plan for 2021-2025.
Nguyen QuangDong, Director of the Institute for Policy Research and Media Development(IPS), already pointed out some reasons for the situation.
He said theprivatisation of clean-water supplying services had not been accompanied by theestablishment of a reasonable market structure for the services.
"Forexample, how is the state responsible for providing clean water services; atwhat stage does the private sector participate; and what is the mechanism toattract public-private partnership for private investment in domestic watersupply," he said.
Therefore,while the State lacked investment resources to develop the services, it stillfailed to attract private investment, he said.
In part,this was because private enterprises faced high risks when they entered themarket, he said.
Meanwhile,State-owned enterprises also faced difficulties as water prices were low andcould not afford to expand the water supply area, he said.
According toDong, retail prices of water, especial the price of domestic water, are low.
It costsonly 3,000 – 18,000 VND (0.13-0.78 USD) per cu.m of domestic water in urban areasand 2,000 – 11,000 VND (0.08-0.48 USD) in rural areas.
In manylocalities, including Hanoi, the price of domestic water has not been adjustedover the past ten years, while the price of electricity has been adjusted ninetimes in the same period.
Besides, theState management of clean water is fragmented under five ministries, whichworsens the situation.
The NaturalResources and Environment Ministry is assigned to manage the production ofclean water. The Ministry of Construction and the Agricultural and RuralDevelopment Ministry are assigned to be in charge of distributing clean water.The Ministry of Finance is assigned to manage the selling price of water whilethe Ministry of Health is assigned to control the water quality.
Dongsuggested that it would be necessary to have a comprehensive assessment and anoverall policy to improve the clean water trading market.
It should belinked to the development of the Law on Water Supply and Water Treatment, whichthe Government had requested the Ministry of Construction to compile, he said.
Nguyen DinhCung, former Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM),said the clean water market still had many incomplete problems, from organisingto managing and operating the market.
Thus, hesaid there should be a separate law for the water market, regulating not onlythe issue of water supply but also the problem of domestic water treatment.
"Similarto the electricity sector having the Electricity Law, water needs a law tocreate a unified and transparent framework for the clean water market," headded.
NationalAssembly (NA) deputy Nguyen Quang Huan, a member of the NA's Committee onScience, Technology and Environment, said that attracting private investmentwas necessary to expand clean water supply, ensuring the right to access waterfor people.
However, forprivate participation, the frameworks and regulations for the market needed tobe further improved, he said.
A legaldocument was necessary and the Government should soon propose it to theNational Assembly for consideration, he said.
Moreover,mechanisms and policies were advised to be managed synchronously andeffectively from central to local levels./.
VNA
