WB to Lend $570M for Development Projects in Vietnam

The World Bank (WB) Mar 29 approved one loan and three credits totaling $570 million for development projects in Vietnam, the WB said on its Press Release on March 30.  Of the sum, $180 million will be used to scale up and reinforce Vietnam’s electricity transmission system and $175 million to improve urban accessibility and strengthen capacity for urban transport management in the northern city of Haiphong.  Some $150 million is aimed strengthen healthcare waste management policies nationwide and support at least 150 central and provincial hospitals and the rest for providing better sanitations for over 600,000 people in the coastal cities of Dong Hoi, Quy Nhon and Nha Trang. Vietnam faces huge infrastructure gap and constraints to environmental sustainability from its 10 year socio-economic development strategy 2011-2020, said Victoria Kwakwa, Country Director for the WB in Vietnam. “The funding are expected to help with necessary infrastructure development, provide support to government to modernize its approach to infrastructure development and management, and addressing important environmental challenges”, she said. The WB, which is among the biggest donors for Vietnam, has pledged around $2.6 billion in official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam this year and also announced to finance over $6 billion for the country in the 2011-2013 fiscal years. (Press Release Mar 30)