Supporting a sustainable mobility project in the southern Vietnamese province of An Giang is among the 2017 global agenda of Alstom Foundation, the body said Tuesday.

The project, to be launched at the well-known Phu An bamboo village in An Giang's Phu Tan District, aims at building sustainable and reliable boats with bamboo-based material in Vietnam, where wood is becoming a scarce resource, according to Alstom Foundation.

This is the sixth year Alstom Foundation sponsors projects in Vietnam, where it has had a presence for over 15 years.

This project is part of the 18 projects Alstom Foundation selected in 2017 worldwide, promoting employability, welfare and children’s education in countries where the foundation has a presence.

The remaining 17 projects are in India, the U.S., Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, France, U.K., Italy, Romania, Algeria, Egypt and South Africa.

The Alstom Foundation, which is celebrating ten years of activity, has already supported a total of 151 projects across 52 countries.

With a budget of €1 million per year, the Alstom Foundation supports and funds projects proposed by Alstom’s employees who team up with local partners and not-for-profit organizations to carry out initiatives aimed at improving living conditions in communities located near the Alstom’s facilities and project sites around the world.

The foundation’s past projects have focused on economic and social development, access to energy and water, environmental protection and access to mobility.

Well established in Vietnam, Alstom has been awarded on January 17, 2017 a contract by Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board (MRB) to supply a metro system for Hanoi metro line 3 to start commercial operation in 2021.

This is the first integrated metro system contract for Alstom in Vietnam.