JICA’s committed loans for Vietnam roughly unchanged in FY 2017

Fujita Yasuo, Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office, made the statement at the agency’s press conference on April 20, adding that Vietnam remains one of the countries with the biggest JICA-funded projects in the world.

In FY 2016, Japan pledged to provide Vietnam with JPY187.1 billion (US$1.7 billion) in loans and disbursed JPY175.6 billion (US$1.6 billion) for the country.

Fujita Yasuo said in FY 2017, JICA will maintain its support as in FY 2016 for the fields of promoting economic growth and international cooperation capacity, enhancing state governance, and supporting vulnerable groups.

However, the contents subject to the support will be adjusted in accordance with the Japanese Government’s policies, the Vietnamese Government’s demand, and sustainable development goals.

The JICA representative said the disbursement for FY 2017 is set to decrease from FY 2016 since the Thai Binh thermal power plant project already passed the stage that needed much funding.

Additionally, that the Vietnamese Government curbs the disbursement of corresponding capital from its budget will also influence JICA’s disbursement of the committed loans.

Fujita Yasuo pointed out obstacles to JICA’s support provision, elaborating that the handling of administrative procedures and site clearance remain sluggish. Meanwhile, procedures for approving ODA projects have become more complicated under the Vietnamese Government’s Decree 16/2016/ND-CP on the management and use of foreign sponsors’ ODA and concessional loans.

He stressed that JICA respects Vietnam’s public debt limit, but the country should simplify necessary procedures so as to facilitate the disbursement of the committed capital and the implementation of projects.

The problems JICA has encountered also face other foreign sponsors in Vietnam so they will work together to ask the Vietnamese Government to tackle the aforementioned obstacles, he added.