by Trinh Anh Duc
31-12-2002
Second Red River Basin Development Project Finalised
As much as 156 million USD will be pumped in the second phase of a irrigation project in the Red River basin, following an approval by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in the middle of December. Of the total funding, 70 million USD will be from the Asian Development Bank loan and 30 million USD from the French Development Agency loan. The Dutch Government will grant 11,000 USD to the project. The project would be aimed at managing water resources, building institutions, raising productivity and local residents' incomes.
Viet Nam becomes the ADB's biggest loan recipient
Viet Nam became the biggest recipient of Asian Development Bank (ADB)'s loans at the moment, said Country Director of the ADB's Resident Mission John Samy in Ha Noi on December 6.
"In general, implementation of ADB-funded projects in Viet Nam met its requirements. Some projects are slower in compared with their set targets inspite of ADB and Viet Nam's efforts to harmonize procedures for lending," the director noted. The ADB had so far financed 28 of Viet Nam's projects worth 1.7 billion USD. Up to the end of November the ADB had provided Viet Nam with technical assistance worth 6 million USD. In November, the ADB's Board of Directors approved a loan package totalling 75 million USD to help Viet Nam develop alternative methods of finance, using the capital market, insurance, and leasing. The regional bank would lend Viet Nam with 945 million USD in the 2002-2005 period to help it maintain sustainable economic growth as well as reduce poverty.
Construction of Na Hang hydro-electric power plant starts
The construction of the Na Hang hydro-electric power plant started on December 22 on the Gam river, Vinh Yen commune, Na Hang town, Tuyen Quang province. This project was approved by the prime minister in a decision dated April 19, 2002. The plant, developed by the Electricity Corporation of Vietnam with an investment of VND 7,522 billion, will have capacity of 342 megawatts. It will produce 1,295 million kWhs a year. The plant will also serve as flood and drought regulator for the Red River delta. As planned, the first generator unit of the plant will have been put into operation by late 2006 and the construction work will be completed by 2007.
ADB approves $90 million in loans for rural development
The Asian Development Bank approved a 90 million USD soft loan package for a rural development project in Viet Nam, the bank said in a statement released on December 17. The project would benefit two programmes. A 60 million dollar programme would help Viet Nam raise output, profits and competitiveness of small farmers as well as small- and medium-scale enterprises. The 30 million USD programme would aim to encourage the development of agro and industrial enterprises by widening access to medium- and long-term loans. While Vietnam has halved poverty incidence during the 1990s to 37 percent by 2000, poverty levels remained high in rural areas, which are home to 90 percent of the country's poor, the ADB added. Sustainable growth in agriculture is a prerequisite for economic growth and poverty reduction in Viet Nam, the bank stressed.
US $480 million for Phu My 2 electric power plant
US $480 million will be invested to build the thermo-electric power plant of Phu My 2, second phase. This followed a signing ceremony of the project held on December 20 between representatives from the Ministry of Industry and developers. Accordingly, a thermo-electric power plant with a capacity of 715 megawatts will be built at the Phu My Electricity Centre by the Mekong Electricity Company, the EDF International, Sumitomo Corporation and TEPCO International. This plant will consume 0.85 billion cubic metres of gas per year. The Vietnamese side will contribute US $140 million and the remaining US $340 million come from loans. This project is part of a plan to produce electricity at a low cost, helping to ease shortage of electricity and making contributions to Vietnam’s more sustainable economic growth and poverty fight.
US$1 = 15,400 VND