On Tuesday, Da Nang People’s Committee Vice Chairman Dang Viet Dung played host to a group of visitors from the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

Vice Chairman Dung (right) and Deputy Director Lim In Young

The purpose of the visit made by the South Korean guests was to prepare for conducting necessary surveys of the construction of the Integrated Centre for Controlling Green and Smart Urban Resilience (ENSURE Centre) in the city in the future.

During his reception for his foreign guests, Vice Chairman Dung emphasised the importance of the building of the ENSURE Centre in the city because Da Nang has been frequently affected by natural disasters and climate change.

He remarked his city has developed many plans to adapt to climate change which have been mainstreamed in the local socio-economic development programmes. However, Mr Dung also underscored the urgent need to build the ENSURE Centre in Da Nang to help the municipal authorities effectively handle the unexpected natural disaster-related incidents.

Mr Dung highlighted the city’s advantages in building this centre, including information network covering all wards, communes and residential areas, as well as involved employees boasting rich experience in managing, warning flood, and evacuating people in distress.

On behalf of the visiting delegation, Ms Lim In Young, Deputy Director of KOICA Viet Nam, said that her delegation would conduct surveys at relevant local departments and agencies from now until 20 November. The intention was to learn about information technology infrastructure, geographic information systems (GIS), fire alarm systems, flood warning process, and search and rescue activities, in the city.

The ENSURE Centre project is being implemented from 2017 to 2021 at a cost of over 7.5 million USD. Of this, 7.44 million USD is from non-refundable aid funded by the South Korean Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Daegu government and KOICA's official development assistance (ODA) capital, whilst the remaining about 80,000 USD will come from the city’s budget.

The Centre will take the responsibility for giving early warnings of natural disasters, and managing storm and flood-related information on GIS.

In addition, timely and accurately natural disaster-related information will be provided to the local authorities and residents. Moreover, the centre will work closely with relevant agencies to conduct research and rescue activities in the city.