ADB Funds $80.41M to Help Vietnam Overcome Disaster Aftermaths

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has financed $80.41 million to help 10 provinces in Vietnam surmount the consequences of natural disasters in the 2007-2011 period. The project totaling $95.01 million has been carried out in 10 northern and central provinces, which were hardly hit by floods and storms in 2005, heard a conference in the northern province of Ha Giang Dec 27 to review the project’s implementation. The project is aimed to upgrade major infrastructure facilities in the northern provinces of Ha Giang, Yen Bai, Phu Tho, and Nam Dinh; and the central provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Phu Yen. Addressing the meeting, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hoang Van Thang affirmed the success of the project and asked beneficiary localities to sustainably develop the project results to continue serving local residents.  Earlier, the Japanese Red Cross also pledged $2.76 million in aid for a project on natural disaster risk reduction in Vietnam from now until 2015, which will benefit 346 vulnerable communes in eight northernmost coastal provinces.  Vietnam is one out of the ten most vulnerable countries by natural calamities, particularly tropical storms, floods, landslides and droughts. It is estimated to suffer five to six storms this year. Natural disasters have claimed 234 Vietnamese lives and caused the Southeast Asian country a loss of around VND5.9 trillion ($280.95 million) since early this year. (Nhan Dan  - The People Dec 28 p2, Vietnamplus.vn Dec 27, Tuoi Tre – Youth Dec 27)