$100m loan to help SBV get set for public investments

HA NOI — The World Bank and the State Bank of Viet Nam on Thursday signed a credit of US$100 million that will be used to raise the capacity of Government agencies to plan and prepare for public investments.

The loan is part of the Preparation Technical Assistance Facility Project.

Public investments in Viet Nam, and infrastructure investments in particular, often face difficulties in keeping to schedule and are frequently delayed.

The stock of total undisbursed Official Development Assistance (ODA) was about $11 billion at the end of 2008, and this could well increase unless project start-up delays are substantially reduced, the World Bank said in a press release.

This delay in investment implementation also deprives the Vietnamese economy of substantial economic and social benefits.

As development projects will continue to be in high demand in all economic and social sectors, the project would help improve quality at entry to shorten preparation periods. — VNS