The Transport Engineering Construction and Quality Management Bureau under the Ministry of Transport (MoT) is finalizing procedures for the construction of four major transportation projects financed with official development assistance (ODA).

Vietnam is pushing for the construction of four major ODA transportation projects. Photo: Tran Dung.

The first project is the Northern Mountain Province Transport Connectivity Project with investment capital of VND5.34 trillion (US$230.73 million), funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and counterpart fund from the Vietnamese government.

In early November, Project Management Unit No.2 is set to submit to the MoT technical design for two priority civil works for approval and kicking off the construction in the earliest time possible. For remaining works, the MoT would continue to review their respective technical designs in December and target commencing the construction in the first quarter of 2021, aiming to complete by 2024.

The second project is the Central Highlands Connectivity Improvement Project with investment capital of VND3.65 trillion (US$157.77 million), which is financed by the World Bank and Vietnam’s counterpart fund.

To date, the authority has approved the technical design and is in the process of reviewing the estimated cost for two priority civil works. The project is scheduled to start construction this December and completed by 2023.

The third project is the road connecting National Highway No.91 and Long Xuyen City Bypass with investment capital of VND2.1 trillion (US$90.76 million) from ADB’s fund.

The project is under the process of consultant selection for setting up technical design. The MoT targets the construction to start in the third quarter of 2021 and complete by 2023.

The final one is the construction of Day – Ninh Co Junction Canal under the Northern Delta Transport Development Project (US$107.2 million) with fund from the World Bank.

The project is set to commence in November 2020, and complete by 2022.

Slow disbursement of ODA funds

In a recent government meeting, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc urged government agencies and provinces/cities to accelerate the disbursement of VND41 trillion (US$1.77 billion) in ODA funds, or 70% of the target for this year, in the remaining two months of the year.

The Vietnam PM said ODA is an important source for economic development, especially as the country is in need of investment capital for socio-economic development.

Mr. Phuc requested leaders of provinces/cities and government agencies to take greater responsibility in ensuring the full disbursement of public funds in the coming months, saying those with poor competence or responsibility in this task would be replaced.

Mr. Phuc expected government agencies to simplify the administrative procedures in the approval process of investment projects, while the Ministry of Planning and Investment is tasked with reporting to the Prime Minister on a monthly basis on the transferring of ODA funds from projects with slow disbursement progress to those with faster pace.