The plant's expansion and increase in capacity will address the water needs of consumers through 2029. Photo credit: ADB.
A new loan for the expansion of a key water treatment plant benefits from ADB's project preparation assistance.
Viet Nam has been growing steadily among Southeast Asian economies. The country’s boom has been fueled by a strong trade performance, a sound business environment, and a growing middle class. The government plans to maintain this momentum for years to come, and part of this pursuit was realigning its administrative units.
Binh Duong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau, two of the country’s southern provinces, officially became part of Ho Chi Minh City in July 2025. The inclusion was a move to spread development to these surrounding areas. Binh Duong, in particular, is positioned to become a model for smart urban transformation, aligned with Viet Nam’s vision to build sustainable cities with enhanced public services for all.
Project overview
ADB’s assistance program for Viet Nam complements the government’s goals. As per the country partnership strategy for 2023–2026, ADB is supporting increasing climate resilience and social equity, driven by private sector engagement and continued policy reforms.
Also in July 2025, ADB and Thu Dau Mot Water Joint Stock Company (TDM) signed a $6-million loan agreement to expand the Bau Bang water treatment plant in Binh Duong and Thu Dau Mot, part of northern Ho Chi Minh City. Called the Thu Dau Mot Water Expansion Project, this investment will increase the plant’s current capacity from 30,000 cubic meters per day (m3/day) to 80,000 m3/day. The project will also install an 8-kilometer raw water pipeline to increase transmission capacity.
This project builds on the continued success of the government’s equitization reforms, which are aimed at transitioning state-owned enterprises to private sector utilities. ADB’s sovereign and private sector operations have been supporting this shift, and it is expected to improve operational efficiency and help reduce public and publicly guaranteed debt in Viet Nam’s infrastructure sector.
Prior to this project, ADB signed a loan of up to $8 million with TDM’s affiliate, Binh Duong Water Environment Corporation Joint Stock Company (BIWASE), in October 2020—ADB’s first private sector water supply project in Viet Nam. BIWASE is Binh Duong’s sole water distributor. The loan supported the expansion of the Tan Hiep water treatment plant in Binh Duong.
This makes the Thu Dau Mot project the second private sector financing in the country’s water sector. TDM provides treatment and wholesale supply of potable water for both household and industrial customers in Binh Duong.
Aside from the loan, TDM also received capacity-building support from ADB’s WOP4R program. The twinning resulted in strengthened staff capacity in raw water quality, ecological monitoring, smart energy management and carbon neutrality strategies; identification of efficiency gaps; and corrective measures to promote operational efficiency of the Bau Bang water treatment plant.
Value Added
ADB’s Water Financing Partnership Facility (WFPF), through the Water Innovation Trust Fund, supported the preparation of the project through additional expert inputs for both corporate- and project-level environment and social audits. These experts helped TDM undertake environmental and social impact assessments and resettlement planning for the expansion of the water treatment plant to comply with ADB’s requirements for corporate financing with defined subprojects.
The support covered the following: (i) an audit of the Corporate Environmental and Social Management System, (ii) audit of existing facilities forming part of the project, (iii) Initial Environmental and Social Examination for the water treatment plant expansion and new raw water transmission pipeline, and (iv) a resettlement plan for the new raw water pipeline, comprising land acquisition and access, compensation, and livelihood restoration planning to address displacement impacts.
The Thu Dau Mot project was prepared as a joint sovereign and nonsovereign transaction based on the success of the first joint sovereign and nonsovereign corporate loan to BIWASE, which was also prepared with support from WFPF, under the former Netherlands Trust Fund.
Expected Results
The Bau Bang water treatment plant currently serves 96,000 people from 23,000 households, as well as industrial parks covering 3,800–4,956 hectares. The expansion and increase in capacity to 80,000 m3/day is essential to address the water needs of consumers during the anticipated growth period between 2025 and 2029. A succeeding phase is also in the drawing board to further ramp up capacity.
TDM’s General Director Tran The Hung said, “Our collaboration with ADB will help us access long-term financing, strengthen our capacity to manage environmental and social impacts, and improve climate sustainability and resilience.”
“We are committed to providing high-quality water services to our customers and contributing to sustainable development in Binh Duong and Thu Dau Mot.”
This article was republished from the Water Financing Partnership Facility Annual Report 2025, which summarizes the activities and accomplishments of the Facility from January to December 2025.
