ADB Lends Vietnam $190M to Build New University in Hanoi

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has just approved a loan of $190 million for a university construction in the capital city of Hanoi which could serve as a model for Vietnam. The fund aims to help the country maintain the momentum of its development and achieve the status of a completely industrialized country, the Thoi Bao Kinh Te newspaper reported. The largest part of the loan, $170 million, will come from the bank’s ordinary capital resources (OCR) with a 26-year term, while the other $20 million will come from the bank’s Asian Development Fund (ADF) with a term of 30 years.
The new institution will be named the University of Science and Technology of Hanoi, and is meant to contribute to the development of Vietnam’s research and development, and technical innovation resources. The French government will also provide EUR100 million over ten years, and the Vietnamese government will fund $23 million for the project.
“The new institution will offer an improved policy framework for administration, financing and quality of education that could be implemented all across Vietnam,” said Norman LaRocque, ADB’s Senior Education Specialist for Southeast Asia.
Speaking at the Vietnam Business Summit, part of the ongoing 44th ADB Annual Meeting, Vo Hong Phuc, Minister of Planning of Investment said from 1993 to March of this year, ADB approved 105 loans, amounting to $9.39 billion to Vietnam. ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda said that ADB will continue to support to Vietnam’s development in the future.  Vietnam now has 375 universities and colleges. The country targets to have one university placed among the world’s top 200 universities by 2020.
“Despite the fast expansion and rapid growth in the numbers of universities and colleges, the quality of education cannot meet the social demand and development in the region,” Victoria Kwakwa, WB director said. (Thoi Bao Kinh Te – Economic Times May 4 p3, Dat Viet – National Land May 4 p7, Saigon Giai Phong – Saigon Liberation May 4 p2)