Expressing gratitude to Hanoi authority warm reception, Mr Pang Chee Meng briefed about Singaporean technology and smart technology application in supplying and managing clean water. He also conveyed the desire to optimize and materialize cooperation contents signed in the bilateral MoU, especially in the area of sewage and water source management.

Vice Chairman of Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen The Hung receives Pang Chee Meng Director of Singapore's National Water Agency.

Happily welcoming Pang Chee Meng and Singapore delegation, Vice Chairman of Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen The Hung introduced some of Hanoi development master plan. He affirmed, besides targets of economic and society; environment protection, clean water supply are among top priorities of Hanoi authority to improve Hanoian living standards.
To meet Hanoi significant demand of clean water, the municipal authority aim to positively solve the nature water, river water into clean water for household usage as well as production. Highlighted projects must be mentioned are Surface Water Treatment Plants of Duong River and Red River.

Singaporean delegation and Hanoi municipal leaders, cadres.

“We also consider applying smart technology to purify the rain-water into drinking water... After all, the authority aim to establish one mutual clean water criteria for all the sources in the city, as well as supply water which can be drank from tape”, Hung pressed.
Appraising Singapore as the top reliable investment to Hanoi city, Vice Chairman of Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen The Hung is in high hope that Singaporean enterprises, experts would continue to invest, exchange high technology in water management, environment protection to Hanoi.
Being impressed with Hanoi development plan, Mr Pang Chee Meng affirmed to put effort to enhance and connect Singapore-Hanoi cooperation in water management as well as other fields.  On occasion of the visit to Hanoi, Director Pang Chee Meng sends invitation to the municipal leaders to attend International Water Week taking place in Singapore on July, 2018.  This is the chance for both sides to reinforce experience exchange, enhance cooperation to develop technology and apply smart technology in water management.   
During a seminar in May, Director of  Vietnam Department of Water Resources Management and Rural Water Supply Do Van Thanh said, 95 percent of population aimed to gain access to protected water sources and 55 percent to clean water by 2020.
To achieve the set target, it is necessary to increase investment from the State budget and mobilize other resource; promote co-operation and calling for financial support from international organizations; ask commercial banks to provide loans with preferential interest rates for enterprises, he said.
He also emphasized the importance of technology transfers, particularly the environmentally friendly technology, automated water quality control, and the application of simple technology with reduced price and easy to repair.
According to Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hoang Van Thang, clean water and sanitation in rural areas are facing many challenges due to climate change and the impacts of upstream water resources, requiring a new approach to deal with. The seminar aimed to evaluate the results achieved in the past and to find solutions to shortcomings. Statistic show that, in 2016, 87.5 percent of the population had access to improved water sources. According to report of Centre for Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (under the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development), by February 2017, nearly 95 percent of the rural population has access to clean water.