JICA official: Payment delay – barrier to ODA-funded projects

In the first half of the fiscal year 2017 from April 1 – September 30, Japanese ODA-funded projects brought fruits to Vietnam, mostly in the three pillars of promoting growth and competitiveness, coping with vulnerable issues and strengthening governance. Among them are a north-south highway and a project to transfer vaccine production technology to Vietnam’s State-run POLYVAC company.

Procurement data also showed that Vietnamese firms won numerous contracts via ODA projects.

Yasuo said JICA highly values the Vietnamese government’s efforts to limit public debts, adding that ODA disbursement is not a major factor to increase public debts.

JICA suggests the Vietnamese government continue reviewing procedures to promptly decide on budget allocation for projects using loans, he said.

In the near future, JICA will continue working more closely with the Vietnamese government to discuss how to effectively devise and carry out priority projects, use capital from the private sector and Japanese firms.

During the six-month period, Japan committed nearly 61.8 billion JPY worth of ODA to new projects, US$51.2 billion of which was disbursed.

A project using non-refundable aid worth 1.8 billion JPY was also signed.