The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) has disbursed the first credit package of 61 billion VND (2.8 million USD) for fishermen in central Binh Dinh province to build new ships serving off-shore operations.

The loan duration is 11 years with an interest rate of 7 percent for the first year. If the debtors are eligible to the State financial assistance policy, they will be exempt from the first-year interest and obtain a 1-percent yearly interest payment.

The loan will cover most of the shipbuilding cost, facilitating the locals to better carry out their business at sea.

According to BIDV Chairman Tran Bac Ha, 23 fishermen have registered for the bank’s credit package thus far.

The package is offered as the realisation of the Government’s Decree 67/2014/ND-CP, which provides basic policies to boost fisheries development, including assisting fishermen in building high-capacity, iron-covered ships designed for offshore fishing, a practice that could earn fishermen higher incomes.

As many as 2,079 new off-shore fishing ships and 205 logistics ships are expected to be built under this decree, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

With a coastline of more than 134km, Binh Dinh has three major ports, namely Tam Quan, De Gi and Quy Nhon.

The province has a fishing fleet of over 7,400 vessels including nearly 3,000 offshore fishing ships with capacity ranging from 90 to over 1,000 CV each.-VNA