Asia Times: Japan funds key Vietnamese infrastructure projects


	April 2, 2002	atimes.com

Southeast Asia

Japan funds key Vietnamese infrastructure projects

HANOI - The Japanese government will provide 67.5 billion yen (about US$540 million) in loans toward the implementation of five major infrastructure projects in Vietnam. The credit agreement, part of Japan's official development assistance (ODA), was signed in Hanoi on Thursday by Japanese Ambassador Ryuichiro Yamazaki and Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Xuan Gia.

The biggest portion of the loan, $182 million, will be spent on building an international terminal in Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chih Minh City. The second phase of the project to build the Omon Power Plant and electricity network in the Mekong Delta will receive $125 million. A bridge over the Hong (Red) River in Hanoi and the East-West Highway in Ho Chih Minh City will get $119 million and $87.4 million, respectively. And a $27 million tranche will go to the third phase of building the Hai Van Tunnel in the central coastal city of Da Nang.

Yamazaki said he hopes that Vietnam will use the ODA effectively and that the loan will contribute to boosting socio-economic development in the country. He noted that Japan and Vietnam will celebrate 30 years of diplomatic relations next year, and said the occasion offered another opportunity to step up relations in all fields.

For the last financial year, Japan provided Vietnam with 74.3 billion yen in ODA loans, marking a 5 percent increase over 2000.

(Asia Pulse/VNA)