Business

Northern waterways upgrade for brighter future

The Management Board for Waterway Projects under the Vietnam Department for Domestic Waterways on Sept. 1 signed a consultancy contract with two French partners.
The Management Board for Waterway Projects under the Vietnam Departmentfor Domestic Waterways on Sept. 1 signed a consultancy contract with twoFrench partners.

The 10 million USD contract waspart of a World Bank funded project (WB6) to boost waterway transport inthe Northern Delta.

Under the contract, CompagnieNationale De Rhone and Tractebel Engineering of France will help theVietnamese side with study, technical design, compiling bidding filesfor the second phase and supervising the implementation of the first andsecond phases of the project.
The seven-year project,starting from 2009, will cost 201.5 million USD, with the World Bankproviding a loan of 171.5 million USD and the balance coming from theVietnamese Government.

The project was designed toupgrade major waterway corridors and river ports in the northern regionin a bid to reduce transport costs and improve the quality of transportservices, contributing to improving local people’s living standards andregional socio-economic development.

Waterwayscorridors linking Viet Tri and Quang Ninh through Duong river and Hanoiand the East Sea through Lach Giang estuary will be upgraded, while newports will be built in Phu Tho and Ninh Binh province./.
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