The World Bank has extended the deadline of a major Ho Chi Minh City environmental sanitation project it is funding for another six months, the bank said in a meeting with local authorities on Wednesday.

The Nhieu Loc – Thi Nghe Basin project, which began in 2001, is now is set for completion by June next year.

The project, which includes the dredging of the Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe Canal and the building of a hydraulically integrated sewer system, was first scheduled to close in 2007.

But the deadline was last postponed until this December due to slow progress.

Last month the Prime Minister approved in-principle the city’s proposal to take more loans for the project, which was first given US$199.96 million, including $166.34 million from the World Bank’s Official Development Assistance program.

The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee is now working with the World Bank to figure out how much more capital is needed. The new amount will not be allowed to exceed US$90 million.

Also at the meeting, the World Bank confirmed it would be the main sponsor of a wastewater treatment plant in District 2 that requires investment of some $520 million in total. The project has no scheduled launch date yet.

Reported by Thanh Nien staff