Japan will provide JPY527 million ($6.41 million) for Vietnam to implement a project to develop a traffic control system for expressways in the capital city of Hanoi, state media reported on Mar 30. An exchange note to this effect was signed in Hanoi on Mar 29 between the Vietnamese Ministry of Transport, the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Vietnam. Apart from building highways for socio-economic development in recent years, the Ministry of Transport and JICA have cooperated in applying the intelligent transport system (ITS) in Vietnam. The project includes installing and putting the system into operation on Hanoi Belt Highway 3 from Highway 5 to Phap Van and Cau Gie. The project is scheduled to be carried out from the second quarter of 2012 to the fourth quarter of 2013. Vietnam is now the second largest recipient of official development assistance (ODA) from Japan. The number of Japanese ODA projects in Vietnam was more than 200 last year, with total investment of $1.8 billion. (Dat Viet – National Land Mar 30 p10, Dau Tu Mar 30 p1, Tien Phong Mar 30 p5, vietnamplus.vn Mar 29)
