Hanoi makes effective use of ODA to improve infrastructure

Hanoi (VNA) – Hanoi is striving to make efficient use of foreign loans, including official development assistance (ODA), to fuel socio-economic development, especially the building of a synchronous transport infrastructure network.

Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung made the statement at a working session with a delegation from the National Assembly Standing Committee led by Chairman of the NA Committee for Finance and Budget Nguyen Duc Hai on August 2.

The event featured discussions on the city’s implementation of policies and regulations on the management and use of ODA in 2011-2016.

In the period, Hanoi carried out 14 programmes and projects using foreign loans totalling nearly 69 trillion VND (2.9 billion USD), including about 43 trillion VND (1.8 billion USD) in ODA.

The city has disbursed approximately 11.6 trillion VND (496.9 million USD), 27 percent of the total ODA, according to Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Doan Toan.

Most of the ODA loans were used to build key socio-economic infrastructure such as urban transport system, environment, water supply and drainage, he said.

He referred to the urban transport development project funded by the World Bank, which put into use the second ring road of Nhat Tan – Cau Giay segment and a bus rapid transit system from Kim Ma road to Yen Nghia bus station in 2016, helping reduce travel time to Noi Bai International Airport.

However, the implementation of ODA projects, especially large-scale urban railway ones, is often slow due to land clearance issues and shortcomings in the national institutional framework on the management and use of ODA.

To make effective use of foreign loans, including ODA, the municipal People’s Committee suggested the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Finance and State Bank of Vietnam speed up the addressing of procedures relating to capital withdrawal, signing of loan agreements and adjustment and extension of loan agreements.

The city recommended ministries and departments work to increase the role of Vietnam in negotiating and receiving ODA loans to harmonise the conditions of separate sponsors and the country’s legal regulations. 

It asked the Ministry of Planning and Investment to work with government agencies and sponsors to complete procedures on building annual ODA disbursement plans.

The city also proposed the NA consider adjusting and supplementing plans providing middle-term capital for ODA projects.-VNA