The World Bank will funnel an additional $97 million into a rural transport project to reduce travel cost and increase market accessibility for five million people in 32 provinces across Vietnam. The loan contract was signed between representatives from the State Bank of Vietnam and the WB in the capital city of Hanoi on March 9. The sum will be sourced from the International Development Association. The Additional Financing for the Third Rural Transport Project is aimed to increase the number of communities connected to new and improved roads all year round. It will help improve the rural road conditions through better management and maintenance of the network and enhance the institutional effectiveness to plan, implement and maintain improvements in the rural transport. According to a press release of the WB, the project has rehabilitated an approximately 2,100 km of roads, and completed the maintenance of approximately 13,000km of district roads and bridges. The improved transport system is expected to benefit up to 5 million people in all 32 participating provinces in central and northern Vietnam, including 14 provinces in the mountainous areas. Thanks to heavy investments, Vietnam’s road network has expanded rapidly, from 225,000km in 1999 to 256,000km in 2009. It now includes 196,404 km of rural roads and serves around 75% of the entire national population and 90% of the nation’s poor who live in rural areas. However, the general quality of the rural roads in Vietnam is poor. Only about 30% of roads have been paved, while most district and commune roads remain gravel or unpaved. Moreover, the budget allocated for maintenance only meets 25% of the need. (vovnews.vn Mar 09)
