ODA disbursements climb 10% in nine months
(VOV) - The cumulative total ODA disbursements during the first nine months of the year jumped 10% over last year’s corresponding period to US$4.105 billion.
According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), total ODA capital sources and preferential loans reached US$3.519 billion in the nine month period, of which US$3.459 billion were ODA loans and US$60 million was non-refundable aid.
MPI Minister Nguyen Van Hieu said the disbursement of ODA and preferential loans have shown positive changes, especially for projects funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and World Bank.
The MPI said the positive results are attributable to drastic measures to facilitate giving effect to ODA funded projects. In addition, the MPI has also co-ordinated with the World Bank (WB) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) to organise meetings to monitor the slow disbursement of projects and worked with Japan to prevent interruptions in the implementation of transport projects.
However, ODA disbursement has not made breakthroughs due to uneven disbursement rate and focused on projects on transport, power energy and adaption to climate change.
In the nine month period, Japan funded a US$147.60 million programme to support economic management and improve competitive capacity, a US$358.11 million project to build Thai Binh No 1 power plant and a transmission line. In addition, the WB also provided US$251.7 million to a road management project.
Relevant agencies are making efforts to remove difficulties in site clearance, counterpart capital, and project quality to speed up the progress of the disbursement and use of ODA effectively.