The World Bank-funded Rural Finance Project No 2 have been widely extolled for its significant contributions to the sustainable development in Vietnam, particularly the economic transition in rural areas, according to a report by Thoi bao Ngan hang newspaper dated Feb 22. Launched in 2003, the project cost $235 million and the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam acted as a major lender with aims to boost economic development in rural areas via pumping more funds to households. Between 2003 and September of 2009, BIDV selected 25 local banks to provide credits of the project to 444,000 sub-projects in 60 out 63 provinces and cities with 274,000 households that gained access to the funds across Vietnam. Based on solid achievements of the project the World Bank decided to inject $200 million more to the rural finance project No 3, under which $19.7 million will have been disbursed as of end-March of 2010.
