Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (right) receives WB Vice President Makhtar Diop during his visit to Vietnam (Photo: VNA) Hanoi, (VNA) – The WorldBank group is committed to continuing to assist Vietnam in developinginfrastructure, Makhtar Diop, WB Vice President for Infrastructure said in his firstvisit to Vietnam from February 20-22.
According to WB Vietnam, Diop saidVietnam’srapid growth – at nearly 7.1 percent in 2018- - is requiring more investment ininfrastructure. The WB estimated Vietnam’s needs for infrastructureinvestment will come to around 25 billion USD each year.
Such a great amount could not bemet by only the public sector, the WB Vice President said, adding thatimproving the efficiency of public investment and creating suitable conditionsto attract private investment are important factors to address challenges ininfrastructure development.
During the visit, Diop heldfruitful discussions with leaders of the Vietnamese government, the NationalAssembly, ministries, agencies and local administrations, during which hereiterated the WB group’s commitment to helping Vietnam implement its infrastructuredevelopment agenda. He said the WB can provide Vietnamwith expertise and international experience, while stressing that thefavourable economic conditions in Vietnam at present provide goodopportunities for accelerating reforms.
The WB is ready to provide financial and technical assistance to Vietnam, aswell as help the country mobilize resources from the private sector to developimportant infrastructure facilities, Diop said.The WB has been supporting the Vietnamese Government in building an effectivelegal environment to attract the involvement of the private sector, including acomprehensive legal framework on public-private partnership, promoting thedevelopment of the domestic financial sector, and ensuring the effectiveoperation of State-owned enterprises in infrastructure.
The WB Vice President also hailed Vietnam’s efforts in planning and prioritizingkey national infrastructure projects such as highways, railways, inland waterways,urban transport, wastewater treatment, and inter-regional infrastructureserving economic development and addressing newly arising challenges includingclimate change.
During the visit,Diop met with leaders of Hanoito discuss the city’s needs in infrastructure development, especially urbantransport. He toured key infrastructure works in the northern port city of Hai Phong.-VNA
