A State-owned bank will provide loans for the construction of the firsttwo ships to be built in central Thanh Hoa province under a Governmentdecree supporting fisheries development, as formulated in creditcontracts inked on June 10.

The Vietnam Bank forAgriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) will loan 12.1 billion VND(556,600 USD) over 15 years to a local resident of Nghi Son commune tobuild a steel fishing vessel with 811CV engines. The total constructioncost is 15.9 billion VND (731,400 USD).

The Long HaiTrading, Transportation, Sea Product and Processing Joint Stock Companybased in Hai Binh commune will get a 15-year loan of 6.2 billion VND(285,200 USD) from Agribank to build a wooden logistics ship. It willtake 8.8 billion VND (404,800 USD) in total to build the 829 CV vessel.

The two debtors have had efficient fishing andlogistics activities and good financial strength, as confirmed by theThanh Hoa People’s Committee.

According to theMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)’s decision, ThanhHoa will build 90 fishing vessels with engines of at least 400 CV andfour logistics ships under the Government decree.

Decree 67/2014/ND-CP, taking effect from August 25 last year, providesbasic policies to encourage fishermen to build high-capacity and steelships capable of fishing offshore, a practice that could earn fishermenhigher incomes and contribute to protecting the country’s territorialwaters.

As many as 2,079 new off-shore fishing ships and 205 logistics ships will be built under the Decree, according to the MARD.-VNA