Donors Pledge to Provide 5 billion US dollar to Vietnam In 2009
Foreign donors Friday pledged official development assistance (ODA) of 5,014 billion US dollar for Vietnam next year, compared with 5,4 billion for this year.
The figures were announced at the World Banks Consultative Group for Vietnams two-day meeting that began Thursday in Hanoi.
Of the total, the World Bank will give 1,66 billion dollar, the Asian Development Bank 1,566 billion, France 280 million, South Korea 268,7 million, Germany 186 million and the US 128,12 million.
Over the past three years, donors have pledged a total of 13,6 billion dollar in development aid to Vietnam, of which over 6 billion has been spent, mostly on infrastructure projects, according to the government.
Donors in Vietnam meet every December for the Consultative Group conference and pledge aid money for the next year.
The pledged funds must be followed by commitments for approved projects, before the money is finally disbursed. The gap is often large for a given year, according to a World Bank report.
Of last years pledge less than 4 billion dollar was committed, and just over two billion dollars disbursed (udbetalt), said the banks Vietnam Development Report for 2009.
The report said annual disbursement rates are low because some aid projects take many years, but also because of the “cumbersome procedures that need to be followed to meet both Vietnamese requirements and donor regulations”.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
