ADB Funds US$410M for Vietnam’s Southern Expressway
The Asian Development Bank provided a soft loan worth US$410 million for the construction of a highway in southern Vietnam under an agreement signed with the State Bank of Vietnam on March 20.
Under the agreement, the Vietnam Expressway Corporation will receive the funding to build a 51 kilometer-long road in southern Dong Nai province.
The four-lane highway with construction slated for completion in 2011 will facilitate traffic to and from the Long Thanh international airport in Dong Nai province, which has been proposed to replace Tan Son Nhat airport in HCM City.
Total cost of the project is estimated at VND9.89 trillion (US$583 million), said the Vietnam Expressway Corporation.
The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) would finance the first 20 kilometers of the road and ADB funding would go to the remaining 31 km, the ADB said.
The ADB has recently approved a credit worth US$72 million for infrastructure development in central Thanh Hoa province, 150 kilometers south of Hanoi, Vietnam Economic Times said.
The bank will also provide loans worth US$1.096 billion to Vietnam to construct a 6-lane expressway linking Hanoi and Lao Cai. The fund will include US$896 million of commercial loans and US$200 million of soft loans. (People’s Police, VNA)
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