Most transport infrastructure projects using official development assistance (ODA) loans have fulfilled their disbursement plans for the whole year, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Thirty-eight projects using foreign loans have spent nearly 5.84 trillion VND (292 million USD), or 191.6 percent of the yearly target, a year on year increase of 36 percent.

According to the Head of the Planning and Investment Department, Nguyen Hoang, “investors’ drastic management” is the main factor that has lead to the positive changes in infrastructure, which foreign investors consider a major challenge for Vietnam’s economy.

In the Vietnam Competitiveness Report, released in late November, the Central Institute of Economic Management (CIEM) said that the country’s infrastructure, including transport, is one of the issues that Vietnam needs to pay more attention to, if it wants to attract more foreign investment.

Being aware of this, the Ministry of Transport has recently asked the government to allow the Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC) to use loans sourced from the World Bank and Japan’s International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to develop the 1.47 billion USD Da Nang-Quang Ngai highway project as soon as possible.

According to the General Director of VEC, Tran Xuan Sanh, this is the first highway project using loans from WB, which will cost 511 million USD over 25 years, while the JICA has committed 692 million USD to the project.

If the project is completed on schedule in 2016, the highway will serve the development of industrial zones in the key central economic region, according to the ministry.

VEC also reported that the Asian Development Bank has committed a loan worth 635.7 million USD for the 57km Ben Luc-Long Thanh highway, which crosses the central part of the southern economic zone.

The Vietnam Roads Administration and the Vietnam Maritime Administration are also completing the preparations for the Hai Phong harbour and the Tan Vu-Lach Huyen highway and will soon sign a loan agreement worth 800 million USD with the JICA./.