HANOI, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam needs nearly 308 million U.S. dollars to deal with landslides along river banks, canals and seashores in its southern Mekong Delta, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The ministry said that landslides have occurred at 562 locations of river banks and seashores, with a total length of 786 km, of which 42 spots stretch 149 km in specially dangerous conditions, and it needs about 6,990 billion Vietnamese dong (307.9 million U.S. dollars) to reinforce such eroded locations, Vietnam News Agency reported on Thursday.
Apart from reinforcing dykes, provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta should address a number of issues of public concern like the unplanned and over-exploitation of sand and gravel, while heeding forestation, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said in Hanoi capital on Thursday at a working session with representatives of 13 Mekong Delta localities.
An Giang, Dong Thap, Ca Mau and Bac Lieu provinces are most affected by landslides, the prime minister noted.
Phuc said that mid- and long-term capital has been allocated to deal with 17 out of 42 specially dangerous spots.
He decided to allocate part of the state budget to Mekong Delta localities, helping them build urgent and important facilities, and part of Vietnam's ODA sources to form a climate change fund in the delta.
