Road loans

Vietnam: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved over US$ 100 million in two loans to help improve the road network in Vietnam.

The first US$ 95 million loan will be used to fund improvements to 1200 km of rural roads in 19 provinces in central Vietnam in a bid to boost economic growth. The improvements will include upgrading routes between selected rural areas and district and provincial centres for all weather conditions and introduction of road safety programmes.

The other US$ 6 million loan has been granted to provide technical assistance for a section of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS)transport corridor which will connect Kunming in China's Yunnan Province with Hanoi in Vietnam. Construction of the 400 km expressway from Kunming to the Vietnam border is due to be completed during 2008 and upgrades to the road between Noi Bai and Hanoi in Vietnam have already been completed.

Work to improve narrow sections and under capacity bridges on a 260 km section between Noi Bai and the Lao Cai on the Vietnam border, which is estimated to cost US$ 620 million, has yet to get underway. The ADB loan will be used to help fund planning and design elements of the scheme.

“The finished highway will reduce the travel time between Hanoi and Lao Cai from at least 10 hours at present to around three hours,” said ADB transport specialist Yasushi Tanaka.