3:26:42 PM | 7/8/2005
Vietnam has disbursed some US$740 million in official development assistance (ODA) so far this year, representing a slight increase from the same period last year but fulfilling only 42 per cent of this year's target, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).
Of the total amount, commercial loans made up US$610 million, and non-refundable aid, US$130 million.
Of the total sum US$482 million or 79 per cent was sourced by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, the three largest ODA providers for Vietnam.
The MPI also said the total ODA commitment under agreements signed with donors so far this year amounted to US$1.34 billion, including US$1.18 billion in loans and US$155.5 million in grants.
Major ODA-funded projects in the past six months included US$220 million for rural energy development and US$105 million to modernize the country's banking system.
Large-scale projects carried out with non-refundable funds inked in the first half of the year were a program on rural development in central Quang Tri province, worth US$12.16 million, and a German-funded program on small and medium-sized enterprise development worth US$11.23 million.
Late last month, the MPI predicted total ODA realized this year could reach at least US$1.7 billion, compared to US$1.6 billion recorded in 2004.
The MPI targets total disbursed ODA loans to reach around US$11 billion between 2005 and 2010 in order to maintain high economic growth in the period.
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.
VNA, Investment
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