Speech by Ashok Lavasa, ADB Vice-President for Private Sector Operations and Public–Private Partnerships, at the Signing Ceremony of the BIWASE Sustainable Water Services Project, 17 November 2020
Chairman Thien, Vice Chairman of Binh Duong Provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Truc, Director General Shohei Hara of JICA, all my colleagues from the ADB, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
Good morning from Delhi.
On behalf of ADB, I am honored to join the signing ceremony for the corporate loan facility between Binh Duong Water Environment Joint Stock Company, Asian Development Bank, and Japan International Cooperation Agency. Like so many things these days I have to do it virtually but I do look forward to witnessing the success of this project physically in the near future.
ADB is happy to support this project both because it is a water supply project (the first private sector water supply project in Vietnam), and because the project is being promoted by a company with an impressive track record. BIWASE, founded in 1975, has played an important role in providing essential services to the province of Binh Duong, which is one of the fastest developing provinces and is becoming a hospitable home to billions of dollars of foreign direct investments.
BIWASE, with over 310 thousand cubic meters per day of water production capacity, serves all the key demand centers and about 80% of its population. It is also the provider of municipal and industrial solid waste treatment services, as well as the sole operator of municipal wastewater and sanitation services in Binh Duong province.
ADB will be providing a combination of $8 million corporate facility for the expansion of 100 thousand cubic meter per day of water production capacity and a $500,000 technical assistance funded by the Republic of Korea e-Asia and Knowledge Partnership Fund for the Creditworthiness and Institutional Capacity Enhancement. The TA complements the project by improving BIWASE’s creditworthiness and institutional capacity to provide climate-resilient, sustainable, and affordable water supply services.
ADB has a longstanding relationship with BIWASE, which was one of the entities supported by the third provincial towns water supply and sanitation project, signed in April 2002. After successful completion, the second loan under the Water Sector Investment Program, was signed in May 2013, for which we are again witnessing the successful completion by the end of this year. Through this transaction, ADB is delighted to be part of BIWASE’s journey in transitioning from reliance on sovereign financing to standalone private sector financing and supporting BIWASE in its production capacity expansion to meet the rapidly growing water demand in the province.
I believe ADB’s relationship with BIWASE is more than just a commercial relationship. BIWASE’s commitment to high quality service and adherence to international Environment & Safety standards make it a strong partner for a development bank like ADB. I’m very confident that ADB’s relationship with BIWASE will go a long way in meeting the development needs of the people and pave the way for an enduring engagement.
This transaction will also open the door to a new financial support from ADB to Viet Nam’s privatizing water sector and can be replicated for wider acceptance and growing appetite from the market.
ADB is also pleased to successfully work together with JICA, which is providing a parallel loan alongside ADB to complete this project under a challenging time frame.
Before I conclude, I would like to emphasize the need for water conservation and energy saving as we work towards satisfying the growing demand for both in order to improve the quality of life. Our quest for progress has to continuously recognize the need for sustainable growth and judicious use of natural resources. I think it is the responsibility of all of us, more particularly of companies working towards fulfilling our needs, to take care of our environment and to propagate and execute measures required for its protection. I am sure that this concern will remain at the core of our ambitions and guide the philosophy of the Bank’s development partners.
Chairman Thien, the management and working teams at BIWASE, congratulations on reaching this important milestone. ADB is pleased to have forged a long lasting partnership with BIWASE and we look forward to working together to support your continued growth in Viet Nam in the service of its people.
Thank you for making me a part of this occasion and thank you all for joining the signing ceremony today.