ADB to Help Enhance Road Transport in Vietnam

A US$1 million technical assistance grant from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will help to increase efficiency in road transport administration and attract investment in Viet Nam's rapidly expanding road transport network.

 

The grant, sourced from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction and funded by the Government of Japan, will provide the Ministry of Transport and its support agencies with guidelines to strengthen institutional and financial arrangements, operation and maintenance, and governance.

 

Funding for road projects will be improved through the technical assistance. An assessment will be made on how to fund the Viet Nam's North-South Expressway Project, a massive road development project estimated to cost US$17.9 billion and covering 1,811 kilometres of expressway stretching from Ha Noi to Can Tho on the eastern side of Viet Nam. Possible funding options include public-private partnership (PPP), official development assistance, and government funding. PPP arrangements are more closely assessed in the most southern section of the project, My Thuan-Can Tho Expressway, which is included in ADB’s indicative assistance pipeline.

 

The government will contribute US$150,000 equivalent toward the TA's estimated total cost of US$1.15 million. The Ministry of Transport is the executing agency for the TA, which is due for completion around August 2011.