Vietnam to Extend ADB-funded Power Transmission Project

Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has okayed to extend a power transmission project receiving financial support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) by one year and a half to four years and a half. The extension aims to boost the transmission capacity to ease overload at the national power grid. The “Power Transmission System 3” receives a credit worth $231.3 million from the ADB. Vietnam has been seeking foreign funding for power transmission as its weak transmission capacity has harmed the grid security and caused high power loss. ADB is one of the major donors for Vietnam over the past decades. Between 1993 and 2014, the bank financed roughly $13.91 billion to the Southeast Asian country. The majority of the funding goes to road and telecommunications projects (32.3%), energy (17.6%), agriculture and natural resources (13.1%). (Nangluongvietnam.vn April 7)