The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide Vietnam with a non-refundable loan of $1.5 million to help improve traffic safety in the southern central region. The Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, Le Minh Hung, signed an agreement with ADB Country Director for Vietnam Tomoyuki Kimura, for the loan on December 20. The grant will come from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, administered by the ADB, and will be used to design a pilot project to upgrade roads running through two southern central provinces on the coast, Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan. These roads are in bad condition and susceptible to natural disasters. ADB Country Director Tomoyuki Kimura said that “With sharp increase in motor vehicles, traffic safety is among the greatest challenges in Vietnam, which witnesses a fatality rate due to traffic accidents of 1.5 per 10,000 people, among the highest in the world.” He also noted that frequent flooding and landslides also are also a big issue along such roads, particularly those in coastal areas, adding that the project will help raise the ability of local agencies to manage traffic, as well as offer practical upgrades that can help these roads sustain increasing use. The $1.67 million program will include increased safeguards against natural disasters, such as consolidating embankments and improving drainage systems. (Thoi bao Ngan hang – Banking Times Dec 21 p3, Lao dong – Labor Dec 21 p3, Tuoi Tre –Youth Dec 21 p4)
