The government of Vietnam is expected to pump VND554 trillion (about US$34 billion) to build infrastructure works and call for foreign and domestic investments via BOT (build-operate-transfer) and BT (Build-Transfer) modes next year, the government’s website said on September 11.
Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung, one of the country’s most powerful persons, reiterated at the meeting that foreign investors and local private businesses are encouraged to invest in.
Ministry of Planning and Investment released the figure, up 19.6 per cent of this year’s estimation, representing 41.5 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product.
To mobilize the sum, Vietnam will use VND97 trillion ($6.06 billion) from the State budget, accounting for 17.5 per cent, VND40 trillion ($2.5 billion) from government bonds, bills, ODA loans, and state-owned enterprises and VND201 trillion ($12.56 billion) from private sectors or 36.4 per cent, MPI noted.
Deputy PM Hung asked for synchronized measures to be adopted by ministries, sectors and localities in raising State budget’s tax revenue, forex reserves, proposing Ministries of Finance and Planning and Investment double check tax revenues from exports and shipping crude oil abroad.
Vietnamese Prime Minister directed Ministries of Planning and Investment, Finance, Foreign Affairs to boost ODA disbursement this year by adopting urgent measures including the common report forms of pre-feasibility and feasibility studies between Vietnam and donors.
Recently, the World Bank announced to lend Vietnam $711 million, part of the $4.3 billion package of soft loans and non-refundable aids for the Pacific-East Asia for fiscal year 2007 to sharpen the country’s competitiveness in the future, state media reported.
Vietnam will use up to 60 per cent of the sum to improve urban infrastructure development including roads environment hygiene and transport systems, and 15 per cent will be spared for natural environment and resource management, the report said.
So far this year, Vietnam has disbursed just $709 million out of total committed $1.22 billion in ODA loans, according to Chief of Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI)’s National Economic Division, Bui Ha.
A WB survey showed that each WB-funded $100 million project can help 210,000 people in Vietnam escape from the poverty trap, and if the ODA disbursement rate was up by 10-20 per cent, Vietnam’s GDP would be grew by additional 0.3 per cent per annum in the next five years.
(Government’s Website, VietnamNet)
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