The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will fund a total of $165.8 million to improve urban environment, climate resilient infrastructure and healthcare services in Vietnam under agreements signed in Hanoi on Nov 8. Three agreements to the effect were signed by ADB Country Director for Vietnam Tomoyuki Kimura and State Bank of Vietnam Governor Nguyen Van Binh. Of the sum, $95 million in loan will be spent on urban development, including improving solid waste management and upgrading climate resilient infrastructure, in Ha Tinh province, and Buon Ma Thuot and Tam Ky cities. The second loan worth $70 million will be used to carry out a project on reducing the number of maternal and child deaths in the five Central Highlands provinces of Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, and Lam Dong. The grant agreement worth $833,000 sourced from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR) aims to boost livelihoods and income for the poor in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) corridor town. Earlier, the prime minister also ratified the second phase of an ADB-funded project on reducing the infection and death rate caused by popular infectious disease for GMS countries, including Vietnam. (Thoi Bao Ngan Hang – Banking Times Nov 11 p2, An Ninh Thu Do – Capital Security Nov 11 p6, vtv.vn Nov 9)
