ADB approves $180m loan for Vietnam

ADB approves $180m loan for Vietnam

HANOI: Vietnam is to get a US$180 million soft-loan package from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to improve the water security of poor people in rural areas, officials said on Thursday.

The money will finance a project to provide the poor in the countryside with a better access to water for health and livelihoods, an official from Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) said.

Vietnamese government will invest another $75 million to the project, according to a letter of intent signed by MARD's Minister Le Huy Ngo and ADB President Tadao Chino last Friday in Kyoto.

The project, which will also help Vietnam improve pro-poor water management, reduce vulnerabilities and create a sustainable natural resource base, will serve as a model for similar initiatives in other countries in Asian and Pacific region, ADB said in a statement.

Vietnam has a long history of water management in response to water shortages during the dry season, a monsoon system that regular causes extensive flood damage, and a need to intensify agricultural production. -- AFP