German-funded project brings water to residents in Dong Van Karst Plateau

Ha Giang (VNA) – More than 10,000 residents in the Dong Van Karst Plateau in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang will no longer have to worry about water shortage for their daily life thanks to the launch of a pumping station on November 16.

The Seo Ho water pumping station in Dong Van district’s Thai Phin Tung commune was built under the KaWaTech Solution collaborative project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

Construction of the pumping station started in February 2014 with a total investment of 110 billion VND (over 4.75 million USD at current exchange rate), to which Ha Giang provided 70 billion VND.

It is the main part of the KaWaTech Solution project, in which German and Vietnamese partners from universities, research institutes, and government agencies worked together towards developing and testing innovative solutions for sustainable water supply for the karst plateau, which suffers from a chronic water shortage.

Addressing the launch ceremony, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Le Xuan Dinh expressed the hope that the BMBF as well as Vietnamese ministries, agencies and scientists will continue to help with seeking solutions for sustainable water supply and socio-economic development in the karst plateau, which is one of the poorest regions in Vietnam.

Dong Van plateau, covering a total area of 2,356 km2, is 80 percent limestone and contains the fossils of thousands of species of prehistoric creatures from 400-600 million years ago.
It is also home to over 250,000 people from 17 different ethnic groups, who boast unique cultures that have been fostered over the centuries.

The plateau was recognised as a member of the Global Network of National Geoparks in 2010, becoming Vietnam’s first geological park and the second in Southeast Asia./.