ADB loan for Vietnam

ADB loan for Vietnam

HANOI (Reuter): The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to lend Vietnam US$80 million and give it a $1.4 million technical assistance grant for a power upgrading and distribution project.

The loan, covering 70 percent of the project's total cost, would come from the concessional Asian Development Fund, with a term of 40 years, including a 10-year grace period and an annual service charge of one percent, the Manila-based ADB said.

The project will benefit four million people living in the northern cities of Hanoi, Haiphong and Nam Dinh, it said in a statement.

Bong-Suh Lee, ADB's vice president, signed the agreements at a ceremony in Hanoi and said the ADB planned to approve loans totaling $260 million for Vietnam this year.

It has already approved a $30 million loan to upgrade Saigon port, and loans later this year totaling $150 million would assist water supply, fisheries and rural development projects, he told Reuters.