ODA Disbursement Likely to Reach US$1.7Bln this Year: MPI Official

ODA Disbursement Likely to Reach US$1.7Bln this Year: MPI Official

Total official development assistance capital realized this year can reach at least US$1.7 billion, compared to US$1.6 billion recorded in 2004, according to a senior official of the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

Mr Duong Duc Ung, head of the MPI’s External Economic Relations Department, attributed his optimistic forecast to the simplification and harmonization of procedures relating to the realization of ODA funds so far this year.

He noted the procedure harmonization conducted by five international banks such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, who are also the largest donors to Vietnam with their offering accounting for 70 per cent of total ODA commitments to the country.

Mr Ung also revealed that the MPI is preparing a Hanoi Declaration on the simplification and harmonization of procedures as well as the effective improvement in the use of ODA funds.

“Thanks to these steps, ODA disbursement by major international donors to Vietnam has reached the average rate in the region,” he said without citing out any exact figures achieved so far this year.

Mr Ung also predicted that new ODA commitments to Vietnam this year would surpass the highest level of US$3.4 billion in 2004.

He also praised international donors’ direct financial assistance to the Vietnam government’s programs to improve education and reduce poverty so far this year.

Available MPI statistics showed that ODA realization totaled only US$349 million by April 15 this year, meeting 20 per cent of the country's target for the year.

The MPI targets total disbursed ODA loans to reach around US$11 billion between 2005-2010 in order to maintain high economic growth in the period.

The amount of disbursed ODA loans will mainly come from commitments of international donors for Vietnam made between 2001-05, which totaled US$13.6 billion.  Only US$6.7 billion has been put into use from 2001 until now.

In the 1993-2004 period, Vietnam saw a very low rate of ODA disbursement, at around 48.8 per cent of the total US$29 billion pledged by international donors during the past 12 Consultative Group (CG) meetings, including US$20 billion concretized via agreements.

Investment