Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank has committed to providing 178 million USD in credits for the Dakdrinh hydro power project in the central province of Quang Ngai and the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum.

The bank made the commitment with the Dakdrinh Hydropower Joint Stock Company, an arm of PetroVietnam Power Corporation (PV Power), at a ceremony in Hanoi on May 25.

The loan was made under the guarantee of the Vietnamese Finance Ministry and the Japanese Investment and Export Insurance Company (NEXI).

The credits, to be reimbursed during the next 13 years, will cover up to 80 percent of the project investment, estimated at over 4.9 trillion VND.

PV Power General Director Vu Huy Quang said the 125 MW hydro power project would play the second-biggest role in the Quang Ngai economy, after the Dung Quat Economic Zone.

Once completed by late 2013, the factory would produce some 540 million kWh of electricity annually, contributing to a stable supply of electricity for the central region.

Credit Agricole CIB has two branches in the capital city of Hanoi and the nation’s southern largest economic hub – Ho Chi Minh City.

The bank has provided credits for a number of major projects in Vietnam, including a 325km-long gas pipeline to connect the PM3 block to the southernmost province of Ca Mau and the Dung Quat Polypropylene Factory.

Other projects with credits coming from Credit Agricole CIB included the purchase of Airbus and ATR planes for Vietnam Airlines, construction of seaports and restructuring coal projects./.