Vietnam Calls for More ODA for Urban Development

Vietnam Calls for More ODA for Urban Development

Vietnam expects to attract more Official Development Assistance (ODA) to serve urban development objective from now to 2010, Deputy Minister of Construction Tong Van Nga said at a conference on ODA attraction and its use in construction in Hanoi on Wednesday.

Of which, priority would be given to water supply and drainage, transport, environment and housing for low-income labors, in order to meet the demand for rapid development in urban areas.

To implement the above objective, the construction sector must coordinate with other ministries and branches to harmonize procedures between the Government and donors.

The sector also needs to pay attention to training and guiding works for the local project management board to adequately control projects, especially in disbursement and bidding works.

According to the Ministry of Construction, almost all provinces and cities have so far had ODA-funded urban development projects. Foreign banks such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank (WB) and the Japanese Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC) have lent Vietnam about 40% of the total capital needed for urban infrastructure development projects.

The demand for urban development in Vietnam is high and on the rise, especially in small- and medium-sized urban centers, said reports at the conference. About 500 urban areas are calling for investment for development.

Currently, the ministry is directing the implementation of urban infrastructure projects in 18 cities and towns and managing the use of ODA for urban infrastructure development in 45 other cities and towns.

The ministry completed some projects calling ODA in the next phase with four key programs such as Vietnam Water Supply Program for Small and Medium-sized Urban Centers, the National Urban Overall Upgrade Program, the Drainage and Urban Waste Disposal Program and the Urban Transport Development Program.

However, the majority of ODA projects fall behind and implementation models are insufficient and complicated. Management and design capacity is often weak and disputes and lawsuits in bidding are common.

By the end of 2004, the country attracted nearly $29 billion of registered ODA capital, including $21 billion of signed ODA, accounting for 72% of registered capital and $14.11 billion of disbursed funds, occupying 68.5% of signed value.

The construction sector alone received 47 ODA projects in the period with total investment capital of more than $400 million, including 42 technical support projects worth over $10 million and five soft loan projects worth $398 million.

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