The objectives of the Vietnam Urban Upgrading Project are to alleviate poverty in urban areas by improving the living and environmental conditions of the urban poor using participatory planning methods, and influencing planning processes to become more inclusive and pro-poor. The project will be carried out in four cities-Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho in the south, and Haiphong and Nam Dinh in the north. All four cities have numerous low-income, infrastructure-deficient communities with low grade housing. For each city, six components will be financed: Tertiary Infrastructure Upgrading, Complementary Primary and Secondary Infrastructure, Resettlement Housing, Land and Housing Management, Housing Improvement Loan Program, and Capacity Building. A separate component (Component 7) will finance the development of a National Urban Upgrading Program which will be managed by the Ministry of Construction.