Attracting investment for clean water in rural areas

Investing in clean water in rural areas plays a very important role because it is both an essential need and a foundation for production development, protecting public health and improving the quality of life of rural people. Accordingly, investing in clean water infrastructure in rural areas, ensuring people have access to sustainable clean water sources is one of the goals that Dong Nai province has focused on implementing in recent times.

Clean water treatment system at Gia Tan Water Supply Joint Stock Company, Dau Giay commune. Photo: Binh Nguyen

This goal is even more important in the current context of declining groundwater resources, pollution and increasingly evident climate change. Accordingly, in the 2026-2030 period, the province continues to identify this as one of the key tasks, prioritizing investment resources for clean water in rural areas, especially in remote and border communes.

Investment priority

In the period of 2021-2025, Dong Nai province (formerly) invested in the construction of 26 clean water supply projects in rural areas. Of these, 15 projects have been completed and put into use, 11 projects are completing procedures for project preparation. The total length of water supply pipelines connecting and expanding the water supply scope from centralized water supply projects is 1,048km. The total investment cost for water supply projects reached more than 2.3 trillion VND.

Binh Phuoc province (previously) did not invest in rural clean water infrastructure from the state budget, mainly urban water supply enterprises expanded investment in water supply pipelines for some rural communes adjacent to urban areas. In the period 2021-2025, water supply enterprises invested about 320km of water supply pipelines for more than 5,800 households.

As a result, Dong Nai province (formerly) had 91 rural centralized water supply projects, including: 52 projects in operation, 39 projects stopped operating. Binh Phuoc province (formerly) had 48 projects, with 32 projects in operation, 16 projects stopped operating. Among them, many centralized water supply projects had poor operational efficiency. The reason was that most of the centralized water supply projects had been invested for many years, many items were damaged or degraded.

Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment Vo Van Dinh said: As of December 2025, the rate of rural households in Dong Nai province using hygienic water reached 100%. Of which, the rate of households using clean water that meets standards is 79%, using water from centralized water supply works is 43%, from household water supply works and water filtration equipment is 36%.

In the period 2026-2030, Dong Nai province continues to set high targets for clean water in rural areas. Specifically, by 2030, the rate of rural households using clean water that meets standards in the province will be 85%. Of which, water use from centralized water supply works will reach 68%, from household water supply works and water filtration equipment will reach 17%.

Attracting investment with policy support

To achieve the goal of clean water in rural areas, in the period of 2026-2030, Dong Nai province must continue to strongly attract many investment resources for clean water infrastructure in rural areas. Specifically, the province continues to implement transitional projects from 2025. In addition, localities will invest in 10 new projects, supplying water to about 137,200 people with an investment cost of more than 680.7 billion VND. In addition, the province continues to invest in upgrading, repairing and expanding water supply routes with a total cost of more than 2.5 trillion VND.

This is a difficult problem for localities when the investment capital from the budget for irrigation and rural clean water projects is still very low compared to the actual demand. Meanwhile, the integration of other capital sources is still difficult due to differences in mechanisms. Meanwhile, attracting enterprises to invest in rural clean water supply projects, especially in remote and border communes, is still very difficult due to the large investment capital requirements. Meanwhile, people in rural areas do not live in a concentrated area, water prices are low, so profits are not high and do not encourage investors.

According to the feedback from enterprises investing in rural clean water supply projects, investment still faces many obstacles and difficulties. Enterprises hope to have their mechanisms and policies resolved as well as receive more practical support from departments, branches and localities in providing guidance to make the investment procedures and records more quick and effective.

Mr. Ha Anh Tong, Deputy Director of Binh Phuoc Water Supply and Drainage Joint Stock Company (BPWACO), Binh Phuoc Ward, said: The company encountered some difficulties because after the merger, the water supply areas in some areas overlapped. When the company carried out procedures to apply for a water supply construction permit, the local authorities were still confused in determining the water supply scope. In addition, the complicated and lengthy paperwork procedures were also an obstacle for the company in implementing the investment.

Mr. Dang Dinh Thuan, Director of Dong Nai Irrigation Company Limited commented: In reality, in rural areas, people still have the habit of using water from drilled wells, dug wells, where there is no water source, they mainly use water in the dry season, and in the rainy season, they use rainwater. The province needs to have policies to support investment in rural clean water supply for communes in remote, isolated and border areas. To ensure sustainability, it is necessary to invest in large-scale projects, ensuring the right to use water from surface water projects such as reservoirs. At the same time, there needs to be policies on public land allocation, credit policies... to encourage investors.

According to the recommendations of some investors of rural water supply projects, enterprises have a need to increase the water supply for daily life from irrigation reservoirs. Many irrigation reservoirs previously mainly supplied water for irrigation for agriculture. However, the process of converting crops, the irrigation area tends to decrease, enterprises propose to regulate water in irrigation reservoirs to increase water supply for daily life.

Provincial Party Committee member, Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thi Hoang assigned the Department of Agriculture and Environment to coordinate with the Department of Construction to develop a plan for investment in rural clean water supply in the province for the period 2026-2030 based on comments from communes and wards to meet actual needs. In particular, communes and wards need to review and divide investment zones. If there are already projects, they should not attract more to avoid overlapping investments; where there are no projects, they should call for investment; where there are sparsely populated areas, household water filters should be installed.

Binh Nguyen

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/xa-hoi/202512/thu-hut-dau-tu-cho-nuoc-sach-nong-thon-b2a00b2/