Binh Dinh Invest

Vietnam Expects to Disburse US$2 Bln ODA This Year

29 October 2007

Vietnam is expected to disburse around US$2 billion in official development assistance (ODA) this year out of US$10.9 billion set for the 2006-2010 period, said Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Cao Viet Sinh.

2007 will be the first year Vietnam will have realized its ODA disbursement target in the five-year plan, he added.

According to MPI, the total ODA capital pledged by donors through agreements in the nine months were estimated at US$2.097 billion, including US$1.968 billion of loans and US$129 million of non-refundable aids.

The majority of the pledged ODA for this year focuses on the areas of industrial, health, education, and environmental projects, especially projects of the World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Between January and September, Vietnam disbursed US$1.438 billion in ODA capital, making up 76 per cent of the country’s full-year target, Sinh said.

Vietnam’s ODA disbursement remains low due to problems related to legal procedures and limited capability of project management stemming from the change in the management model after the PMU18 scandal was brought to light, Sinh said.

The World Bank (WB), the ADB, the French Development Agency (AFD), the German Reconstruction Bank (KFW) and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), hold up to 80 per cent of the total pledged ODA for the Southeast Asian nation.

Source: VCCI