The loans will be used to fund the construction of the North-West expressway that runs through the entire country.
They will be paid back after 30 years (a ten-year grace period included) at an interest rate of 1.2 percent per annum.
This is the first lending made to Vietnam by the Japanese government in this fiscal year.
Many in Japan have recommended the government to continue providing such loans to Vietnam and other countries even though it is struggling with the reconstruction at home after the massive earthquake that triggered a huge tsunami in early March, Japanese ambassador to Vietnam Tanizaki Yasuaki said at a signing ceremony in Hanoi Tuesday.
The East Asian country will keep giving financial aid to Vietnam, which it considers a top partner, he added.
In another development, the Japanese government will grant $99,903 to Thanh Hoa authorities to help build an elementary school in Cac Son Commune, and $99,172 to Nghe An Province for the construction of another elementary in Dien Tan Commune under agreements signed today at the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam.
Tuoitre