On 17 June 2023 Darco Water Technologies Limited held a grand opening ceremony for its water treatment and clean water supply project in Ba Lai district of Vietnam’s Ben Tre Province.
The plant will initially supply 5,000m3 of clean water up to 20,000 rural households. Upon completion of the project’s second phase in 2024, the plant will supply 15,000m3 of clean water a day to more households and industrial areas.
Darco’s Ba Lai Vietnam grand opening ceremony on 17 June 2023
The DBOO (Design, Build, Own, Operate) project is a joint venture (“JV”) with InfraCo Asia, a commercially managed infrastructure development and investment company specialising in private infrastructure development financing. Infraco Asia also invested in the JV entity via an equity stake.
The project has a 50-year lease from the Vietnam government commencing July 2017. According to the World Bank’s Global Partnership for Results-Based Approaches (www.gprba.org), approximately 74% of the Vietnamese population is concentrated in rural areas, yet only 48% of households have access to clean water and must rely on polluted sources for basic household needs during the dry season.
On 3 January 2022, Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Le Van Thanh, signed a decision approving the National Rural Clean Water Supply and Sanitation Strategy to supply 65% of rural residents with affordable clean water by 2030, and 100% of all rural residents by 2045. (https://en.vietnamplus.vn/national-strategy-aims-to-provide-clean-water-to-rural-residents-by-2030/220029.vnp#&gid=1&pid=1)
Water treatment reservoir
Darco’s corporate ethos views ESG and CSR as inextricably tied to its business
We are now living in an era where government regulators, lending banks, fund managers and investors want corporations to account for the ESG aspects of their operations:
The water technologies industry stands out as a natural fit to link business, ESG and CSR. And Darco has weaved this philosophy into their business for a unique brand identity and to differentiate them from competitors,
Water underpins all sustainable economic and social development. In short, Water is Life. The Asian Development Bank’s “Asian Water Development Outlook” published in December 2020 states that “1.5 billion people living in rural areas and 0.6 billion in urban areas still lack adequate water supply and sanitation”.
Water samples before and after treatment
Darco is in a business with very good prospects. The market for water treatment and water supply in the ASEAN countries has good potential. The treatment of wastewater, the supply of potable water and the industrial applications for water are a function of economic growth, population growth and urbanisation. In the rural areas, there is a growing need for potable water as the population grows and sources of clean water are depleted by pollution and climate change.
In urban areas, the supply of clean piped water as well as the treatment and disposal of wastewater is an important issue faced by all cities. Many processes in a modern industrial economy also require the use of water, ranging from the ultra-pure water required by the semiconductor industry to potable water used in the food and beverage industry.
CEO Dr Zhang said, “The success of the Ba Lai project will showcase Darco’s capabilities and present more opportunities for similar projects in Vietnam. From the business perspective, the plant will also be able to contribute a regular revenue stream to Darco Water Technologies Limited, which will supplement and smoothen the income flow from EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) projects. This will enable the Company to use its financial resources more optimally and generate a higher rate of growth.”
Darco’s Chairman Mr Wang Zhi (王志) said, “The business outlook is good, but to me, it is more important that we are in a business that will bring benefits to society. We work hard to incorporate ESG and CSR initiatives into all our projects.
It is important that in every community where we have our projects, our construction does not adversely affect the environment, and that we do not disrupt the economic and social life of the local community.
Our representatives are in constant touch with the community’s representatives and the headmen of the villages in the district.
We organized activities to interact with the local community and show them what benefits the plant will bring to them.
We also donated home and school supplies to the needy as a token of our appreciation to the community for the warm welcome they have extended to us”
Contributing to the community’s needs.
For original article, please visit: Darco Water Technologies’ Vietnam Water Treatment Plant: Where Business, ESG And CSR Intertwine- Investor-One