The World Bank (WB) will provide $390 million in loans for a $600-million project to upgrade urban areas in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region, the Thoi bao Kinh te newspaper reported June 21. Under the project, the urban areas comprise Can Tho city, My Tho town in Tien Giang province, Ca Mau town, Cao Lanh town in Dong Thap province, Rach Gia city in Kien Giang and Tra Vinh town. An agreement on the funding is expected to be signed on September next year, Deputy Director of Department of Urban Development under Vietnamese Ministry of Construction Do Tu Lan said. The project scheduled to start in January, 2012, is under the National Urban Upgrading Strategy (NUUS) by 2020 approved by the prime minister. The WB has funded $10.4 billion in soft loans for 93 programs and projects in Vietnam since 1993. The bank pledged $2.498 billion in official development assistance (ODA) for the country this year.
