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.