The announcement said a technical assistance grant of US$2.5 million from the Nordic Development Fund, administered by ADB, will be used to help Ho Chi Minh City and Danang, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and Thanh Hoa Province plan and implement effective climate change response measures.

The assistance will support the Vietnamese Government’s National Target Program for building a more climate-resilient economy producing less greenhouse gas, the bank said.

“This project will help increase the capacity of the target cities, ministries and province to respond effectively to the impacts of climate change,” Ayumi Konishi, ADB Country Director for Vietnam, said in the statement.

A national study for Vietnam indicates that by the end of the 21st century the average temperature will have risen by about 2.3 degrees Celsius with sea levels expected to increase by 75 cm over the same period. These changes in climate threaten the key rice growing areas of the Mekong and Red river deltas, as well as major urban areas, including Ho Chi Minh and Danang cities.

The project will fund impact assessments to identify the risks to economic sectors and communities from climate change, with mitigation and adaptation options identified and integrated into comprehensive action plans. The capacity of key agencies in the public and private sectors will be strengthened, and climate change community awareness campaigns will be carried out through the media.

The ADB said the assistance will also support the design of greenhouse gas emission reduction projects, along with estimates of emissions under different growth scenarios, and the creation of an emissions database which can be regularly updated.

According to the bank, the Vietnamese Government will provide counterpart finance of $250,000 for a total investment cost of $2.75 million. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is the executing agency for the project which is due to begin in May 2011, and be completed by May 2013. The Nordic Development Fund is the joint multilateral development institution of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and provides grant finance for climate change interventions in developing countries.