An Asian water research center, with a focus on research and the management of water resources in the Mekong Delta and Ho Chi Minh City, will be inaugurated at a local university in the middle of next month.

The opening of the Centre Asiatique de Recherche sur l’Eau (Asian Center for Water Research) will be marked by a science conference at the HCMC University of Technology on November 18 and 19.

The center’s overall goal is to contribute to the sound and sustainable management of water resources in the Delta and Ho Chi Minh City by undertaking research, training, and transfer actions.

It will implement international research projects and exchange programs focused on fundamental water resource issues, such as industrial and domestic waste treatment, regulation of saline intrusion, estimation of flows of sediments and contaminants, urban development plans, and urban networks of water distribution.

The facility aims to provide local support by increasing international expertise from 2015 onward, and at the same time foster the emergence of technological innovations and facilitate their transfer to the local industry.

The conference will be attended by representatives from 14 francophone universities of the Réseau d’excellence des sciences de l’ingénieur de la Francophonie (The Network of Excellence in Engineering Sciences of the French-speaking Community), the parent of the water research center.

Scientists of the schools, located in 11 countries in Africa, America, Asia, and Europe, will discuss training young engineers who have a wide knowledge of the most advanced technology and developing research projects that will bring benefits to countries around the world.

Initial research will be dedicated to water, energy, nutrition, and food safety.