A multimillion-dollar Asian Development Bank (ADB)-funded project to install a ten-kilometer water pipeline from a treatment facility in Thu Duc District to downtown Ho Chi Minh City broke ground on Wednesday.

The project is a cooperative effort between Saigon Water Company (Sawaco) and French joint venture Vinci Construction Grands Projects - Bessac CW1, which signed the contract to install the pipe in August.

The 2.4 meter wide pipeline will use French technology to transport water ten kilometers underground from the Binh Thai intersection in Thu Duc District to the junction between Nguyen Binh Khiem and Dien Bien Phu Streets in District 1. The section spanning the Saigon River will run underwater.

The project’s estimated cost sits at VND3,465 billion ($152.64 million), most of which will be funded with ADB-provided loans.

The new water pipeline is expected to bring significant improvements to Ho Chi Minh City’s water supply services and serve as a backup to the 50-year-old pipeline currently used by the city.

Construction on the pipeline is scheduled to last three and a half years and will primarily benefit residents in District 1, District 3, Phu Nhuan District, and Binh Thanh District.

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