Hải Dương Province in Vietnam and Mitsamiouli Hospital in Comoros

In terms of international cooperation, thanks to AFD’s FICOL facility, the Sanitation Department of the Seine-St-Denis Departmental Council (CD 93) has made it possible to launch two sanitation and wastewater treatment plant projects in 2019 in partnership mainly with the SIAAP, as well as the Île-de-France Region, and in part Eau de Paris, the AESN and the CD 94.

The first project took place in Vietnam, in the province and city of Haï Dương. Growing urbanisation combined with a dilapidated sewage system and poor waste management were leading to serious health problems. The CD 93 therefore asked the SIAAP to take charge of the necessary studies and improvements to the entire wastewater system.

The project involved building :

• a wastewater collection network in the Nguyên Trai district, with 233 households connected to the city network;
• a wastewater treatment plant using a bacterial bed and Planted Filter (cf. FPV) for the city’s 2 major hospitals;
• a wastewater treatment plant for the craft village in the Dong Can district.

The project included training for technicians and municipal staff in charge of sanitation, as well as raising awareness among the population, including the implementation of a pilot lagooning project. As a result, sanitation has been increased to 75%, with an HDI of 117e/189. Following on from the AVEC project in 2018, feasibility studies are being carried out into the needs and future development of the water treatment and recovery sector.

The second project, which took place in the Comoros, received €280k from AFD out of an estimated total of €400k. The Assises de la coopération franco-comorienne (French-Comorian cooperation conference) held in June 2017, and the setting up and signing of the consortium including the Mitsamiouli (Mutsamihuli) town council and the RASMI association based in France took a very long time. This pilot project concerns the Mitsamiouli hospital in the north of the island of Ngazidja (i.e. Grande-Comore Island), the main island in the Comoros archipelago.

The three ambitions are to install a sewage system and renovate the drinking water network and sanitary facilities. The project is due to last almost 2 years and will use FPV techniques, i.e. Planted Filtering, for example with reeds; this is one of the four research areas of the REVERSAAL unit (e.g. REFLET platform, EPNAC team, etc.). It also includes training for technical staff, especially within the hospital. It also provides for the introduction of a system guaranteeing the financial sustainability of the facility and payment for water consumption. Other issues to be addressed include management and regulatory structures, coordination and the institutional framework.

The first project is intended to be particularly lightweight, to make it easier to operate and maintain, but also to ensure its long-term viability and sustainability, while making it easier to replicate. A summary methodological guide will be produced to provide operational players with a reference tool for managing and implementing the circular economy of wastewater and its by-products in their territories, which are part of the “Southern countries” application area.