As part of a technical cooperation programme on sustainable urban development between Da Nang and Japan’s Yokohama City, the 5^th Da Nang Urban Development Forum took place in the city last Friday. 

The signing ceremony

Speaking at the event, Da Nang People’s Committee Vice Chairman Nguyen Ngoc Tuan said that his city is in need of active assistance from Yokohama to deal with the problem of environmental pollution at the Tho Quang fishing wharf, as well as to develop this wharf into a fishery centre in the central region, and the country as a whole.

Vice Chairman Tuan affirmed that the bilateral technical cooperation on sustainable urban development with Yokohama was one of the most successful bilateral cooperation programmes with other foreign localities.

The General Director of the Japan International Cooperation Agency in Yokohama City, Mr Makoto Sekiyama, shared with Da Nang his locality’s valuable experience about dealing with unexpected issues arising during Da Nang’s urban development progress.  Focus will be on solid waste management, railway station relocation, urban restructuring, and water environment improvement at the Tho Quang fishing wharf.

The event also featured discussions about the building of the Lien Chieu Port in the public-private partnership (PPP) form, the application of Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) to install high-capacity pumps at the Da Nang Water Supply Company, and accelerating the implementation of solid waste management projects in the city.

Also at the event, representatives from the Da Nang Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, and the Yokohama Natural Resources and Water Recycling Office, entered into an agreement on boosting solid waste classification and recycling in Da Nang.

Under the agreement, the project will run between 2017 and 2020, and it will be implemented on a trial basis in Hai Chau and Thanh Khe districts.  Yokohama will organise training courses on enhancing management capacity for local employees involved in such aspect, and provide solid waste collection equipment for the city.

On the occasion, the Da Nang authorities gave a Certificate of Merit to Yokohama’s leaders in recognition of their active involvement in promoting the city’s development in 2015.