Public Private Partnership Initiative for a Sustainable Greater Ho Chi Minh City Flood Protection Scheme, Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City is the most populous city of Viet Nam, with some 13 million inhabitants in its metropolitan area. The city is situated in the south, of Viet Nam, on the northern side of the Mekong Delta. The city is situated in a deltaic region, along the Saigon River which flows into the Dong Nai river before flushing into the South Chinese Sea. As a populous Delta City, Ho Chi Minh City is facing typical challenges such as land subsidence due to soft soils, groundwater extraction and the weight of high-rise buildings; rising sea levels due to global climate change; increased rainfall causing higher river discharges and water levels; urbanization affecting drainage capacity of the city; and increasing land scarcity due to intensifying economic growth and according rise in population. Presently, Ho Chi Minh City is seeking investment of some USD 53 billion into “210 projects in transport infrastructure, education, healthcare, tourism, trade and services, and sport and tourism”.2 The sum of investments is some 24% of the country’s total GDP. Therefore, the Vietnamese Government is seeking other financing means, such as private investments to realise public responsibility. Private investors show interest as due to the high growth rates of the economy and return on investment can be realized. This provides opportunities for different types of Public Private Partnerships (PPP) to be formed between consortia of private companies jointly developing projects with the Vietnamese Government.The Public Private Partnership Initiative for Ho Chi Minh City Flood Protection (the “PPP Initiative”) was created during the visit of Minister Kaag and Hans de Boer to Ho Chi Minh City in February 2018, in response to the need for financing and increasing flood safety in the Vietnamese city. The initiative proposes a PPP that aims to develop flood safety for Ho Chi Minh City through private financing. Hence, privately financing public responsibility.Through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) a flood protection scheme can be developed that enhances the flood safety of selected areas in Ho Chi Minh City. The SPV would earn income through multiple income streams over a period of time, to generate a return on investment. The multiple income streams could take the form of, e.g., land development; insurance premiums; multifunctional dykes; freshwater revenues; toll collections; and sharing of tax revenues. Meanwhile, flood safety will be secured through sustainable – preferably innovative – flood mitigation measures, increasing the liveability of the city, safety of citizens and reducing annual damages to buildings, properties and the economy.If proven successful, the approach could lead to financing of more areas of (other) cities in Viet Nam, and partially solving the Government’s challenge of financing public works. Proving this approach successful would allow the Netherlands to support other countries prone to high flood risks as well, that have limited public resources and/or financial funds available.The financing of flood safety using private funds through a PPP is a novel idea, but also much more difficult than that of a more traditional toll road. It therefore requires creativity when it comes to defining revenue generating income streams and government concessions. The Netherlands Government and a Consortium of Dutch and Vietnamese members have initiated providing support to the People’s Committee (PC) of Ho Chi Minh City. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Steering Centre of Urban Flood Control Program (SCFC)3 under the PCs Department of Construction (DoC) with the Netherlands Government on 11 April 2019.A Consortium is being established to execute the PPP Initiative. The Consortium is currently led by Royal HaskoningDHV and CDR International and further consisting of Van Oord, Trung Nam Group and VINANED.This project is conducted in cooperation with: RHDHV and People’s Committee Ho Chi Minh City.