According to the Bank’s website, the objective of this project is to enhance the management of fisheries sector and increase value-added through upgrading with smart infrastructure.

The proposed Sustainable Fisheries Development work (SFDP) will support the Government of Viet Nam in advancing the implementation of key aspects of the country's Fisheries Law and the Marine Strategy. More specifically, by drawing on core fisheries sustainability pillars, the SFDP will support the newly-formed Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE) and selected provinces in strengthening fisheries governance systems and undertaking strategic investments, particularly in climate-resilient smart infrastructure for protecting and improving production capacities and supply chains, as well as for scaling-up adaptation in low-laying coastal areas through support for polyculture adoption. The SFDP is further informed by the strategic development directions in the fisheries sector outlined in Viet Nam's Socio-Economic Development Strategy (SEDS) 2021-2030 and Plan (SEDP) 2021-2025, whereby marine aquaculture and capture fisheries are recognized as priority sectors in the country's economic development, providing significant contribution to the economy.

To this end, the SFDP will focus on assisting Viet Nam to meet priority needs in developing modern "Blue Ports" and storm shelters to strengthen climate resilience, improve value addition, and strengthen port state control to meet market access and traceability requirements for sustainable fisheries management. Targeted infrastructure support to key fishing ports and vessel shelters under both central and provincial management is needed, given their importance in fisheries governance particularly for port state control of capture fisheries. Aquaculture support will further focus on strengthening coastal adaptation in conjunction with introducing poli-culture practices to expand sustainable production of Viet Nam's key export shrimp commodity. Enabling emerging high-value mariculture commodities, such as crustaceans and mollusks will also be considered.

The investments under MAE component involving the construction/upgrading of grade I and regional fishing ports and storm shelters include: (a) wharves for vessels and logistic services, with lengths varying from 122 to 250 meters; port sections embankments of hundreds of meters long; dredging of access channels and anchoring waters with areas ranging from a few to tens of hectares; and dredged material volumes from a few thousand to tens of thousands of cubic meters. Except for the one subproject on upgrading Tam Quan storm shelter, the excavated materials is about 500,000 m3; (b) technical infrastructure, such as internal roads; electricity, water supply, drainage and wastewater treatment systems; signaling and communication systems, etc.; and (c) logistic infrastructures including warehouses for fishery classification, storage, and processing; operational houses, etc. The An Giang, Can Tho City, Thanh Hoa and Ca Mau provincial subprojects encompass investments in upgrading aquaculture infrastructure and, for Thanh Hoa and Ca Mau, provincial fishery port and storm shelter rehabilitation and upgrades. Specifically, for An Giang Province, these physical investments include: 23 sluices with widths ranging from 8-10 meters to serve rice and aquaculture farming; upgrading of transport roads to nine meters wide with a total length of 7 km; construction of low voltage and medium power lines, and 30 small transformer stations to operate the sluices. Support for An Giang also introduces and scales up innovative aquaculture practices in rice-shrimp and mangrove-shrimp/crab farming for resilient livelihoods. It includes training, linking the private sector for aquaculture products, marketing, support for origin tracking, and certification to meet VietGAP, SRP, and ASC standards, as well as GHG emission reduction measurement.

For Can Tho City, these physical investments include upgrading rural roads and bridges with a total length of about 73.7 km and widths of 7.5 meters; dredging canals to provide better water supply and discharge, and to backfill the project rural roads along these canals. The total length of dredged canals is about 305 km, with excavated materials amounting to 2.9 million cubic meters. It is noted that although the total volume of Soc Trang investments is large, they are small-scale investments scattered across a large rural area of four districts in Can Tho City. The dredged canals are intra-field, and analysis showed that the dredged materials are non-contaminated. Support for Can Tho city also includes support to introduce and scale up innovative aquaculture practices for resilient livelihoods, and support to ethnic minority communes for the construction of family latrines to improve sanitation and the environment in aquaculture areas.For Thanh Hoa Province, physical investments will support rehabilitation and upgrading of provincial ports and storm shelter, including: (a) wharves for vessels and logistics services, with estimated combined length of 390 meters; port sections embankments; and dredging of access channels; (b) technical infrastructure such as internal roads; electricity, water supply, drainage and wastewater treatment systems; signaling and communication systems, etc.; and (c) logistics infrastructure including warehouses for fishery classification, storage, and processing; operational houses, etc. Physical investments will also include upgrading access roads with a total length of about 6 km, construction of culverts, strengthening embankments and dredging canals to provide better water supply and discharge, and backfilling project rural roads along these canals. The total length of dredged canals is about 14.2 km. The dredged canals are intra-field, and analysis has shown that the dredged materials are non-contaminated. These investments will be spread across nine Thanh Hoa communes.

Support for Ca Mau Province involves rehabilitation and upgrading of one provincial port, including: (a) pier expansion to 150 meters; (b) dredging of access channels and anchoring waters, and (c) logistics infrastructure including warehouses for fishery classification, storage, and processing; operational houses, etc.. Physical investments will also include upgrading rural roads with a total length of about 76.7 km

The main environmental risks and impacts during pre-construction and construction include: (i) safety risks related to unexploded ordnance (UXO); (ii) pollution from dust, waste, and wastewater; (iii) water and soil pollution and impacts on aquatic biodiversity due to improper management and disposal of dredged materials; (iv) risks of erosion and subsidence during the construction of embankments and wharfs; (v) disruption of waterway traffic and disturbances from transporting leveling and excavated materials; and (vi) health and safety risks to the community and workers. These impacts are short-term, moderate to substantial in scale, and reversible. Key environmental risks during operation include: (i) potential soil and water pollution from oil leakage from vessels and improper management of solid waste and wastewater at ports; (ii) contamination of aquatic systems and health risks from overuse of chemicals/medicine in shrimp cultivation; (iii) risk of land salinization and water pollution from saline shrimp farms; and (iv) occupational and community health and safety risks during port operation. Given the project's type, location, sensitivity, scale, and the implementing agencies' capacity to manage environmental risks, the environmental risk is assessed as substantial.

Key social risks include those related to land acquisition and resettlement (LAR), impacts on the livelihoods of ethnic minorities (EMs), and risks related to labor conditions and community health and safety. Infrastructure upgrades will require land acquisition, physical relocation, and restricted access to livelihood opportunities. Social risks and impacts include: (i) loss of land, assets, livelihoods, and properties due to permanent and temporary land acquisition and relocation; (ii) disruption of livelihood activities for farmers and fishers due to construction and operation of fishery infrastructure; (iii) labor influx and related community safety risks; (iv) resistance to adapting new livelihood models; (v) potential adverse impacts on welfare from failed livelihood models; (vi) uneven access to project benefits among vulnerable groups; (vii) relocation of graves; and (viii) health risks from overuse of antibiotics/chemicals in production activities. The substantial social risk rating is due to land acquisition, potential household relocation, and a large labor force, the challenges with GRM/GRS and PCAPs cases related to land acquisition/livelihood programs, which highlight institutional weaknesses in E&S management.

A proposed loan in the amount of us$155.52 million.
Total Project Cost: US$ 209.83 million

CONTACT POINT - World Bank

Task Team Leader: Milen F. Dyoulgerov Vollen
Title: Senior Environmental Specialist
Email: mdyoulgerov@worldbank.org

TTL Contact: Thu Thi Le Nguyen
Job Title: Senior Environmental Specialist
Email: nlethu@worldbank.org

TTL Contact: Phuong Hoang Ai Nguyen
Job Title: Senior Environmental Specialist
Email: pnguyen5@worldbank.org

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