ADB OKs $108M for Poverty Reduction Program in Vietnam

The Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Board of Directors approved a poverty reduction program with a total investment of $108 million for Vietnam on Oct 25, ADB senior official said. The funding will be used for upgrading 600 kilometers of rural roads and irrigation systems for 12,400 hectares of cultivated land in 15 northern mountainous provinces where one fourth of households live in poverty. Vietnam now has only one out of 3 million hectares of cultivated land equipped with irrigation systems, Rural Development Specialist in ADB's Southeast Asia Department David Salter was quoted by the Voice of Vietnam Radio as saying Oct 25. The ADB-funded program will also upgrade markets of ten rural communes to develop local commerce. The ADB has pledged to finance $10 billion for development projects in Vietnam in the 2011-2015 period. The Southeast Asian country aims to reduce the number of poor households to less than 9.5% this year from 11% in 2009. (vovnews.vn Oct 25)