Japan steadfast in ODA acceleration goal

How do you evaluate JICA’s development support for Vietnam in recent times, especially in the first half of fiscal year 2023?

Sugano Yuichi, chief representative at JICA Vietnam

From April 2022 to the end of March this year, the total value of ODA loan commitments was around $126 million, exclusive of investment financing for the private sector. The value of ODA capital is $31.36 million for technical cooperation projects and $4.67 million for projects with non-refundable aid projects. The total number of projects with Japanese ODA mount to over 100.

Regarding JICA Vietnam’s activities in fiscal 2023, one outstanding result was the ODA loan agreement signed in July for three projects, with a total value of more than $400 million in three areas. These include improving urban public transport infrastructure; strengthening the agricultural supply chain; and post-pandemic socioeconomic recovery and development. This is the most ODA loan agreements signed at the same time in six years.

A new aspect of cooperation recently is with Japanese football club Kawasaki Frontale, within the framework of activities aimed at solving a number of social problems through sport. In November 2022 and June 2023, the initiative organised a number of events, such as pairing physical exercise with learning maths, and a health improvement programme partaken in by over 200 people.

What were the actual disbursement results of ODA projects in Vietnam in the first half of 2023 and your forecast for the whole year?

Unfortunately, we cannot publicly disclose the total disbursement value, but we are trying to speed up the disbursement progress by closely coordinating with relevant ministries and project management units in Vietnam to organise meetings to monitor project implementation progress.

Although disbursement progress in the first half of this year remained rather slow, we predict that in general this year’s target will be achieved. Besides that, we are also making efforts to gradually resolve the problem of delayed payments at projects.

We will continue to coordinate with relevant Vietnamese agencies to promote disbursement progress to achieve bigger effectiveness.

How can Vietnam access and use more ODA more effectively?

This type of capital aims to contribute to Vietnam’s national socioeconomic development. Nevertheless, for ODA projects to be implemented effectively, it is important that the recipient must have clear regulations and quick procedures.

Delays in the Vietnamese government’s internal approval process and procedures can cause the total project cost to increase due to inflation, exchange rate fluctuations, and increased prices of materials and equipment during the project’s delay, so JICA along with other donors such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank are currently asking the Vietnamese government to take improvement measures.

What will be JICA’s assistance orientation for Vietnam for the next six months or so and beyond, especially when Vietnam is making all efforts to revive the economy after some tough years?

First is cooperation in high-quality infrastructure. Two ODA loan projects were recently newly inked. One aims to improve public transport infrastructure in the southern province of Binh Duong, and the other focused on ameliorating infrastructure for agricultural development in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong. These projects will contribute to improving the urban public transportation system and agricultural supply chain.

Regarding Metro Line 1 in Ho Chi Minh City, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Management Authority for Urban Railways, construction progress of the project has reached about 96 per cent and is expected to be completed by the end of this year. The project could become operational from July 2024.

Second is cooperation in human resource development. In addition to cooperating in training human resources at the university level at Vietnam Japan University and Can Tho University, JICA has started implementing a new project to improve the dispatching environment for Vietnamese interns in Japan. For this, a project will be deployed to build an information portal to provide useful recruitment information for workers wishing to work in Japan.

What is more, in JICA’s cooperation project with the Vietnam-Japan Institute for Human Resources Development, many training courses have been and will be organised for business managers, continuing to contribute to developing high-quality industrial human resources and promoting the economic growth of Vietnam.

Another aspect is cooperation in the health sector. Besides cooperation with Bach Mai Hospital, Hue Central Hospital, and Cho Ray Hospital, which we have supported for a long time, JICA will also support the establishment of an online training system to strengthen locality-level medical capacity and improve the quality of medical exams and treatments.

We will also continue to cooperate with Japanese private enterprises, non-governmental organisations, and universities to support Vietnam in improving rehabilitation techniques and care-giving skills to respond to emerging health problems in Vietnam such as population ageing.

Fourth is cooperation in climate change response. We are formulating renewable energy development projects in Vietnam with credit under the framework of investment financing for the private sector. Moreover, JICA will use the Green Climate Fund through activities in afforestation and forest protection, and building a roadmap to promote a circular economy, contributing to the implementation of the Vietnamese goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.

MPI to strengthen ODA cooperation between Vietnam and Japan The Vietnam-Japan relationship was one of the most successful bilateral development cooperation relationships in recent years.

South Korea plans waste treatment industrial cluster with ODA funds in Vietnam A new memorandum of agreement is expected to be signed by the South Korean Ministry of Environment and the Vietnamese Ministry of Construction in September.

JICA signs ODA loans for socioeconomic development The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on July 4 signed three loan agreements with the Vietnamese government of Vietnam to provide three official development assistance (ODA) loans worth up to $421 million in total over three years.