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Expressway Development Acceletates with Asian Development Bank Support

HA NOI, VIET NAM (12 December 2008) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Viet Nam today signed loan and grant agreements for the preparation of thee expressway projects in the country.

The agreements were signed by State Bank of Viet Nam’s Governor Nguyen Van Giau and ADB’s Country Director for Viet Nam, Ayumi Konishi.

ADB’s technical assistance loan of $26 million will finance the formulation of detailed designs for three expressway projects: the Ha Noi–Lang Son Expressway (about 120 km) and the Ha Long–Mong Cai Expressway (about 120 km) in the northern region which are integral sections of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) eastern corridor linking Viet Nam and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in the People’s Republic of China; and the Ben Luc–Long Thanh Expressway (about 60 km) which is a key section of the Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) urban expressway network. The loan will also help enhance the capacity and management expertise of the Viet Nam Expressway Corporation which will implement these projects.

To prepare the Ben Luc-Long Thanh Expressway Project, the Government of Viet Nam and ADB also signed today an agreement for a $1.5 million technical assistance grant from ADB’s Japan Special Fund, financed by the Government of Japan. The technical assistance grant will be used to determine the expressway’s general alignment and basic engineering designs, undertake economic and financial assessments, and prepare social and environmental safeguard plans for the Project. A similar technical assistance grant of $1.5 million is also provided to support the formulation of the Ha Noi-Lang Son Expressway and the Ha Long-Mong Cai Expressway.

"The Ha Noi-Lang Son Expressway and the Ha Long-Mong Cai Expressway projects are particularly important for enhanced trade and tourism between Viet Nam and the People's Republic of China, and strongly supports the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) regional cooperation program. The Ben Luc-Long Thanh Expressway Project will be a new southern link of HCMC's outer ring expressway and improve the traffic in the center of HCMC. It will also have significant impacts on socioeconomic activities in the cities and towns around HCMC," said Mr. Konishi at the signing ceremony.

"Better roads benefit people and businesses by lowering transport costs and transportation time. They will also reduce pollution caused by traffic congestion. Traffic accidents will be reduced by better roads. Expressway development has a very important social and economic impact. ADB has been, and will continue, to be providing Viet Nam with technical and financial assistance in this area," Mr. Konishi added.

The technical assistance loan of $26 million in special drawing rights is financed from ADB's Special Funds resources, and has a 32-year term including a grace period of 8 years and an interest rate of 3.15% per annum during the life of the loan period.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in the Asia and Pacific region through pro-poor sustainable economic growth, social development, and good governance. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members – 48 from the region. In 2007, it approved $10.1 billion of loans, $673 million of grant projects, and technical assistance amounting to $243 million.

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