Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment, Vo Hong Phuc, and Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam, Sakaba Mitsuo, on March 2, signed a diplomatic note under which the Japanese government will provide Vietnam with another official development assistance (ODA) package of more than 25.8 billion Japanese yen (US$285 million) in fiscal year 2009. The aid will be used to develop socioeconomic infrastructure development, protect the environment, and facilitate foreign investment and international economic integration.
The grant raised the total Japanese ODA commitment to Vietnam in the year to a record high of over 145.6 billion yen (US$1.56 billion). The ODA package is to help the Vietnamese government carry out a project to build another terminal at the Noi Bai International Airport (12.6 billion yen) while the remainder is also for large infrastructure projects including the building of Nhat Tan - Noi Bai road in Hanoi (6.5 billion yen), the construction of Can Tho bridge (4.6 billion yen), the upgrading of a road section on National Highway 1 linking Can Tho with Ca Mau (1 billion yen), and the building of the Hoa Lac hi-tech park (1 billion yen).
Ambassador Sakaba Mitsuo said, amongst the five projects, interrelated Noi Bai - Nhat Tan expressway and Noi Bai Airport terminal will be facilitated for implementation and completed in 2014. The soft credit for Noi Bai Airport terminal has an annual interest rate of 0.2 &, a maturity term of 40 years, including 10 years of grace.
Mr Sakaba Mitsuo said Japan will announce another non-refundable aid, estimated at US$110 million, for 2009 in March. As a result, the total aid for Vietnam in the fiscal year 2009 will amount to US$1.67 billion - the largest ever value that Japan aids Vietnam in a year.
The ambassador stressed that Japan’s concessional loans for Vietnam have low interest rate, all below 1 & per annum, because Japan continues to maintain the viewpoint of strategic partnership with Vietnam and economic support while prioritising Japanese companies to participate Japanese-funded projects.
Besides, the Government of Vietnam also proposed the Japanese Government to grant ODA loans for a number of large-scaled, essential infrastructure projects like Lach Huyen Port, Da Nang-Quang Ngai section of the North-South Expressway, Vietnam Space Centre, Dong Nai water supply and wastewater treatment project.
In the past 19 years, Japan is always the largest ODA donor for Vietnam, with a total value reaching some US$14 billion, accounting a third of total aids granted by international donors for Vietnam.
Since Japan resumed ODA grant for Vietnam, the two nations have carried out many cooperative activities to enhance ODA assistance while promoting effective use of ODA loans. The aid plan for Vietnam was also revised. Accordingly, Japan’s ODA will be spent on four fields: Promoting economic development and enhancing international competitiveness; improving social aspect, life and narrowing gaps, protecting environment; enhancing administrative capacity.
On the other hand, Japan also pledged to support notable projects like North-South Express Railway project, North - south Expressway, Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park. Besides, in 2010, the Government of Japan will grant ODA loans for the Climate Change Response Support Programme (PR-SCC) of Vietnam.
Nam Pham
Vietnamese
