Hanoi (VNA) – Twenty two officialdevelopment assistance (ODA) projects with total investment exceeding 2.7billion USD have been deployed in irrigation since 1994, according to anofficial of the central project office (CPO) under the Ministry of Agricultureand Rural Development (MARD).

Pham Dinh Van, CPO deputy head, reported at a conference in Hanoi on February26 that the main bilateral and multilateral donors include the World Bank, theAsian Development Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, theEconomic Development Cooperation Fund through the Export-Import Bank of Korea,the French Development Agency and the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

More than 45 percent of ODA capital committed for the MARD has been poured intoirrigation, he said.

According to the official, six projects with total funding of more than 600million USD for 2016-2020 will continue to be extended to the 2021-2025 period.In addition, the ministry has assigned the office to mobilise capital forprojects worth about 1.1 billion USD.

The mobilisation, management and use of ODA and other loans have changedsignificantly due to access methods of development partners and Vietnam’spolicies.

ODA will gradually be replaced by loans and non-refundable aid from such internationalorganisations as GEF, the Green Climate Fund and the United Nations DevelopmentProgramme, Van said.

He suggested the money be focused on inter-regional and inter-provincialprojects on agricultural and irrigational infrastructure development and theengagement of the private sector should be promoted through the public-privatepartnership model.

Loans should be used for the sectors that yield high profits and non-refundableaid should be allocated to technical, scientific and technology support, andthe building of standards, institutions and policies. Meanwhile, non-governmentalaid can be spent on relief aid and minor development assistance in areas withhigh poverty rates, he said.

In his remarks, MARD Deputy Minister Hoang Van Thang highlighted thesignificance of ODA for irrigation in Vietnam.

The capital has helped the country repair, upgrade and build many irrigationfacilities, he said, adding that local reservoirs which were upgraded with ODA loanshave met international safety standards.-VNA