The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Oct 31 said that it planned nearly $3.9 billion in official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam in the next three years to support projects that will eliminate hurdles to economic growth. The Country Partnership Strategy in 2012-2015, announced by ADB on Oct 31, includes $2.6 billion in ordinary loans, $1.2 billion in soft loans from the Asian Development Fund, plus technical assistance worth $24 million, the ADB said. The new strategy will focus its support on six core areas in the public sector: education, energy, finance, transport, water supply, and agriculture, natural resources and environment (ANR). The transport sector will be the largest beneficiary, receiving 34% of the $3.9 billion ODA. The energy sector comes next with five projects for $700 million, while the ANR sector will receive $340 million. “We will also help the Vietnamese government promote private sector participation in infrastructure projects through various formats including public private partnership,” ADB Country Director for Vietnam Tomoyuki Kimura said. “We will continue working closely with the government, other stakeholders and development partners to help Vietnam maintain strong reform and restructuring momentum,” he added. Though Vietnam has made some major achievements over the past two decades, such as rapid GDP growth and poverty reduction, the ADB has said that the country’s development is hampered by persistent structural shortcomings. Yumiko Tamura, Principal Country Specialist, said that low productivity, low competitiveness and inefficiency in Vietnam’s economic management were long-term issues caused by a shortage of skilled labor and infrastructure bottlenecks. The country needs to increase transparency and consistency in economic policies to restore market confidence, she added. Throughout the 2012-15 period, ADB will support Vietnam’s target of rising to upper middle-income status through achieving inclusive growth and enhancing economic efficiency and environmental sustainability. To efficiently improve the economy, ADB plan to continue supporting structural and policy reforms. The funding will also help strengthen public management and help Vietnam adopt clean technology to become more resilient to the impacts of climate change. (Vietnam News Nov 1 p1, Saigon Giai Phong –Saigon Liberation Nov 1 p1, Kinh Te Vietnam The Gioi –Vietnam & World Economy Nov 1 p8, express.net Oct 31)
