OFID commits $45mln to Vietnams transport infrastructure

VIENNA - The Director-General of the OPEC Fund for International Development, OFID, Dr. Abdulhamid Alkhalifa has signed a US$45 million loan agreement with Vietnam’s Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung for the Da Nang City Transport Project.

OFID’s loan will help complete construction of the city’s crucial ring road, which will improve the connectivity of southeast and western rural regions to the city center. The project will boost access to employment opportunities and social amenities, ultimately supporting socioeconomic development and benefiting over one million people directly.

OFID’s delegation to Vietnam – led by the Director-General – met with the country’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Vice Minister of Planning and Investment Vu Dai Thang to discuss OFID-Viet Nam cooperation, which spans more than 40 years.

Alkhalifa commented, "We are proud to see the people of Vietnam benefiting from OFID’s co-financed projects and we are eager to further grow our partnership with Vietnam, which is already well established. We would be honoured to be thought of by the country’s people as Vietnam’s development partner." Vietmam’s PM, in turn, stated, "I very much appreciate what OFID has done in Vietnam. We should continue this fruitful cooperation." Visits were also made to project sites of other OFID-funded operations, including the successfully-completed Central Transport Hospital in Hanoi and multi-sectoral projects in Ha Tinh Province.

OFID’s high-level delegation to Vietnam also included Assistant Director-General, Public Sector Operations Fuad Albassam, and Country Officer Dr. Jaafar Al-Mahdi.

To date, OFID has approved 21 public sector loans totaling close to $284 million to Vietnam in support of the agriculture, education, energy, health and transport sectors.