Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Xuan Ha, Head of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Monotori Tsuno signed five agreements providing JPY25.82 billion ($285.45 million) in official development assistance (ODA) in Hanoi on March 18, the government said on its website. This is the second aid package that Japan pledged for Vietnam in the fiscal year of 2009 after the first worth JPY109.791 billion signed earlier. The second package will mainly fund five key infrastructure projects namely Terminal T2 at Noi Bai International Airport, a road linking Nhat Tan Bridge with Noi Bai airport, Can Tho Bridge, the third phase of National Highway No.1, Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park. In the fiscal year of 2009, Japan pledged to provide Vietnam JPY145.613 billion, the record high so far. Japan has been the biggest ODA for Vietnam over the past 18 years with the total loans of JPY1.4 billion, making up one-third of the country’s pledged ODA during the time. Japanese ODA for Vietnam this year may be lower than the record figure of 2009 as its economic situation is better and the Southeast Asian nation will not need urgent aids, Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Vietnam, Tsuno Motonori.
