Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved a draft agreement on official development assistance (ODA) and a credit agreement for the second phase of the Soai Rap Dredging Project. The PM assigned the Ministry of Finance to sign the loan agreement with relevant Belgian banks. The ministry will also work with related agencies to negotiate the credit agreement with the Belgian Embassy. Earlier, HCM City approved the second phase of the Soai Rap Dredging Project with an investment of VND2.8 trillion ($133.97 million). Around VND2.17 trillion of the sum is expected to come from the Belgian government. The Soai Rap River dredging scheme encompasses Tien Giang, Long An, Ho Chi Minh City and Ba Ria-Vung Tau. It is expected to accomodate the city’s rising demand for cargo transport. The dredging project is divided into three phases. The first phase will dredge the river to a depth of 9.5 meters for handling ships of 30,000 to 50,000 tons. The second and third phase will dredge to a respective depth of 11 and 12 meters for ships with 50,000-70,000 tons and over 70,000 tons. (gafin.vn Oct 17, chinhphu.vn Oct 16)
