A senior official from Japan has said his country will support the southern province of Binh Duong as much as possible in completing planned urban projects.

Japan’s Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Kotaro Nogami made the remarks while meeting with local authorities on April 26.

He said this is his first visit to Vietnam, which he hoped would help deepen cooperation between the two countries.

He highlighted a project that is jointly being implemented by Japan ’s Tokyu Corporation and the Vietnamese Becamex Binh Duong company as part of the intergovernmental programme developing eco-cities in Vietnam.

He asked local authorities to continue facilitating the operation by Japanese investors.

Chairman of the local People’s Committee Le Thanh Cung said Japan constitutes a key partner in the province which is very keen on and active in carrying out eco-urban projects.

The locality will send a delegation to take part in a real estate exhibition in Japan to seek partners and introduce the local investment attraction policies.

Cung also asked the Vice Minister to consider ODA provision for the underground transport project that links Binh Duong , Ho Chi Minh City, and southern Dong Nai province.

Since the beginning of this year, Binh Duong has attracted an additional 823 million USD in foreign direct investment (FDI), increasing the number of such projects to 2,200 worth 19.6 billion USD, said Director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment Mai Hung Dung.

Japan contributed the most with 219 projects worth 4.68 million USD, he added.-VNA