The French Development Agency (AFD) sponsored a record 89.3 million EUR (about 100.5 million USD) for a number of development projects across Vietnam in 2014, a press conference revealed in Hanoi on June 11.

Notable projects included the pilot metro line No. 3 in Hanoi (69 million EUR), a climate change response support programme (20 million EUR) and the Ngu Ha River rehabilitation project in Hue city (300,000 EUR), highlighted AFD Director in Vietnam Remi Genevey.

In 2015, the agency will continue providing loans for the Vietnamese Government to carry out projects on renewable energy, river delta infrastructure development and climate change adaptation, among others, he added.

On May 19, the AFD signed an agreement to provide Vietnam with a concessional loan of 20 million EUR (over 22.38 million USD) for phase five of the Support Programme to Respond to Climate Change (SPRCC).

The loan adds up to 100 million EUR (over 111.98 million USD) of the agency’s total support to the SPRCC, initiated by the AFD and the Japan International Cooperation Agency in 2009 to assist the local Government in sector reforms to cope with climate change effectively and encourage low CO2 emissions.

Climate change impact prevention is the focus of the AFD’s activities in Vietnam. Between 2006 and 2014, the agency earmarked 471 million EUR for 16 development projects with environmental benefits in the country.-VNA