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

Deputy PM Tran Luu Quang addresses the meeting of the national steering committee on ODA and concessional loans in Hanoi on March 27. (Photo: VNA)

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang on March 27 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 Hanoi 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 Vietnam, 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 Vietnam 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 Vietnam 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 Vietnam 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 Vietnam when it comes to ODA projects to shorten project preparation time.

The partners also recommended Vietnam 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 Vietnam signed for the 2021 - 2023 period was about 3.35 billion USD. 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 29 trillion VND (1.75 billion USD) in public investment funded by foreign capital sources for allocation. About 50.9% of the sum was disbursed. The public investment funding from foreign sources for 2024 is 20 trillion VND, 1.42% of which had disbursed as of February 29, statistics show./.