Non-refundable grants will be used for poverty reduction, social affairs, building policies on institutions and human resource development, knowledge and technology transfer, mitigating natural disaster risks, adapting to climate change, and infrastructure projects with complicated technologies. (Illustrative image. Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamwill focus on handling bottlenecks and promoting the disbursement and effectiveuse of official development assistance (ODA) and preferential loans from donorsbetween 2018 and 2020, per a plan recently approved by Prime Minister NguyenXuan Phuc.
The plan details the orientations for theattraction, management and use of ODA and preferential loans from foreigndonors for 2018-2020 with a vision for 2021-2025.
According to the plan, the country willcontinue to select and prepare good public investment projects based on theireconomic, social and financial efficiency, which need capital disbursementafter 2020 for ODA investment.
Budget overspending and public debt safetyshould be kept within limits, according to the document.
Loans will be funneled into key areas andprojects that are beyond the capacity of the domestic public and privatesectors, such as river and sea ports.
At the same time, Vietnam will work on mechanisms tohelp businesses access loans from the World Bank (WB) and the Asian DevelopmentBank (ADB) and preferential loans from other donors without the Government’sguarantee to implement projects and programmes on renewable energy and climatechange response.
The ODA and preferential loans will only bespent on development, not regular expenditures.
Non-refundable grants will be used forpoverty reduction, social affairs, building policies on institutions and humanresource development, knowledge and technology transfer, mitigating naturaldisaster risks, adapting to climate change, and infrastructure projects withcomplicated technologies.
Priority areas for ODA loans include healthcare,education, vocational training, adapting to climate change, environmentalprotection, and essential and large-scale transport infrastructure withoutpossibility of generating revenue.
Meanwhile, preferential loans will beprioritised for large-scale infrastructure projects that can generate revenues.
The PM will consider allocating preferentialloans to specific programmes and projects that are unable to generate profits.
During the 2021-2025 period, the foreignloans will be channeled into projects with high economic-social efficiency,helping spur growth in tandem with sustainable development, such as those ininfrastructure and smart agriculture.
Priority will be given to projects onclimate change response and the improvement of the quality of environment,education, healthcare and technology.-VNA
VNA
