The Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) on March 31 inked an agreement with the Vietnamese government on providing over JPY95 billion (US$845.21 million) of official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam’s four projects on infrastructure development and enhancement of climate change response capabilities.
Contractors are constructing the Tan Vu-Lach Huyen car route
These ODA loans will work to help Vietnam build essential economic infrastructure aiming to strengthen its competitiveness as well as promote environmental improvements to address the country’s vulnerabilities.
Accordingly, JPY30 billion (US$266.9 million) will be used to finance the third phase of the North-South Expressway Construction Project (Da Nang-Quang Ngai section), which is scheduled to be completed and put into use in June 2018.
The Da Nang-Quang Ngai Expressway is one of the top priorities of the North-South Expressway network, moving towards addressing the increasing traffic in and around Da Nang, facilitating traffic safety and efficient distribution of goods, and contributing to boosting socio-economic development in the central region, including Da Nang, and strengthening the region’s international competitiveness.
Another JPY55.167 billion (US$490.82 million) will be provided for construction of the Lach Huyen International Gateway Port in Hai Phong, with JPY32.287 billion (US$287.26 million) for port infrastructure and the remaining JPY22.88 billion (US$203.56 million) for road and bridge sections.
Due for completion in May 2018, the two projects are expected to meet the increasing demand for goods loading and unloading in Vietnam, and address the issue of large payload ships in the shipping market in recent years, contributing to boosting economic development and enhancing international competitiveness of the northern region in particular, and Vietnam as a whole.
The other JPY10 billion (US$88.97 million) is targeted for the sixth phase of the Support Programme to Respond to Climate Change (SP-RCC), which aims to support implementation of Vietnam’s policies relating to climate change through financial assistance and policy dialogue, seeking to mitigate the impacts of climate change by absorbing and limiting greenhouse gas emissions, strengthen the capacity to adapt to negative impacts of climate change, and address cross-sectoral challenges relating to climate change.
Source: Nhandan