ADB to Help Improve Roads in Viet Nam's Central Region
MANILA, PHILIPPINES (17 November 2005) - ADB will help improve 1,200 kilometers of roads to boost economic growth in 19 provinces of Viet Nam's central region through a $95 million loan and grant package.
A $94.5 million loan will help rehabilitate and improve to all-weather conditions the roads, which connect selected rural areas and district and provincial centers. Road safety programs will also be carried out, and sustainable road and bridge asset management systems will be established.
"The improved roads will increase the efficiency with which people can move and goods can be traded," says Paul Vallely, an ADB Senior Transport Specialist. "The project will help improve access to markets, jobs, and social services in rural areas of central Viet Nam."
Roads are the principal mode for the movement of goods and people in the country's central region, yet the existing networks are sparse and of poor quality.
This has a major impact on people living in rural areas. Nearly all of the
"Their remoteness and poor links to the rest of the economy, including lack of transport connections through all-weather roads, are key factors in the region's poverty," says Mr. Vallely.
A $500,000 grant accompanies the loan to design and implement awareness programs to address the increased vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, other infectious diseases and exploitation of teenage children and women through human trafficking brought by improved access to remote communities.
ADB's loan and grant come from its concessional Asian Development Fund. The loan carries a 32-year term, including a grace period of 8 years. Interest will be 1% per annum during the grace period and 1.5% per annum for the rest of the term.
The Government will finance $32 million equivalent of the project's total estimated cost of $138 million. The Nordic Development Fund will cofinance $11 million.
The Ministry of Transport is executing agency for the project, which is due for completion in 2010.
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