Gov’t determined to hasten ODA, concessional loan disbursement: Deputy PM

VIETNAM, March 28 -  

HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Trần Lưu Quang on Wednesday stressed the Vietnamese Government’s determination to speed up the disbursement of official development assistance (ODA) and concessional loans.

He made the remarks while chairing a Hà Nội meeting of the national steering committee on the capital.

The event also saw the presence of representatives of the World Bank (WB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Export - Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM), the French Development Agency (AFD), and the KfW Development Bank of Germany.

Quang appreciated the development partners’ capital for Việt Nam, describing this as critical to the country’s socio-economic and infrastructure development.

However, he also pointed out certain legal obstacles, policy and procedural differences between Việt Nam and partners, and problems in disbursement and payment procedures.

Asking the two sides to coordinate closely to harmonise procedures to shorten the time needed for project preparation and implementation, he also suggested the partners adopt more flexible and reasonable management models and prioritise funding for the country’s efforts to cope with specific circumstances like climate change and natural disasters.

The Deputy PM also ordered ministries, sectors, and localities of Việt Nam to work closely with the partners to devise solutions to difficulties facing each project.

At the meeting, the development partners pledged to continue providing ODA for Việt Nam and expressed their readiness to assist the Government in issuing regulations on ODA capital management and use.

They underlined the need to harmonise their regulations and legal rules of Việt Nam when it comes to ODA projects to shorten project preparation time.

The partners also recommended Việt Nam continue streamlining administrative procedures and accelerating opinion provision during project preparation and implementation.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) reported that the ODA capital and concessional loans Việt Nam signed for the 2021-23 period was about US$3.35 billion. Ministries, sectors, and localities implemented 656 projects, including 47 investment projects, 215 technical assistance ones and non-project grants.

In 2023, the National Assembly approved VNĐ29 trillion ($1.75 billion) in public investment funded by foreign capital sources for allocation. About 50.9 per cent of the sum was disbursed. The public investment funding from foreign sources for 2024 is VNĐ20 trillion, 1.42 per cent of which had disbursed as of February 29, statistics show. — VNS