Japan to Continue Providing ODA for Vietnam

Japan will continue providing official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam, Ambassador Mitsuo Sakaba said at a press briefing in Hanoi on March 3, the Tuoi tre newspaper reported.  Sakada added that Japanese government is discussing with the Vietnamese authorities to select projects to be funded with ODA in fiscal year 2010.  Earlier on March 2, Vietnam and Japan signed a note of exchange for $285 million in ODA to finance five important projects in Vietnam, of which $11 million will be funneled for Hoa Lac hi-tech zone.
Ambassador Sakada has also suggested Vietnam to encourage private companies to access ODA, saying that Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model is an important mode to speed up works on projects. Japan has been the biggest ODA provider for Vietnam over the past 19 years with the total loans of $14 billion, making up one-third of the country’s pledged ODA during the time.