Photo by Long (lTiga) Nguyen on Unsplash (illustrative)
In August 2025, the World Bank reported on the results of the Can Tho Urban Development and Resilience Project, which ran from 2016 to 2024 in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. Residents of the city center, which used to flood with high tides about twice a month, are now largely protected.
Key facts
The project built 5.2 km of embankments along the Can Tho and Khai Luong rivers, 10 tidal sluice gates and two boat locks.
Drainage was improved on 32 inner-city roads, and two new bridges were built.
About 2,700 hectares of the urban core and more than 420,000 residents are now protected from chronic tidal and seasonal flooding.
A flood risk management system with 60 sensors, Vietnam's first, helps the city monitor water levels.
Why it matters
In Can Tho, high tides and seasonal floods once covered up to half of the built-up area, cutting people off from shops, clinics and work. Keeping water out of homes and streets protects health, savings and daily routines in a low-lying delta city.
Worth noting
The project ran late and over budget: in 2021 its cost estimate rose from about 340 million to about 533 million dollars because of land acquisition problems and COVID-19 delays. Protection covers the urban core, not the whole city.