HÀ NỘI – The Japanese International Co-operation Agency (JICA) will continue to co-operate with the Vietnamese Government at a higher level to further effectively implement Japanese ODA-funded projects in the future.

This was stated by JICA chief representative Fujita Yasuo yesterday at a press conference held to review the implementation of ODA projects in the first half of the fiscal year -- from April to September 2017.

During the six months, several ODA projects were effectively carried out, contributing to the country’s sustainable development, he said.

According to the chief representative, the ODA projects focused on three main fields -- growth promotion and competitiveness enhancement, preparedness for vulnerable issues, and administrative improvement.

In the first half of the fiscal year, the total pledged ODA capital was JPY61.8 billion (US$548 million), of which JPY51.2 billion (US$ 454 million) was disbursed.

So far, several projects have been completed and put into operation, such as Bắc-Nam (North-South) Express, Lạch Huyện International Port in Hải Phòng City, Thác Mơ Hydro-power plant in southern Bình Phước Province and POLYVAC vaccine production.

Although positive results had been achieved by executing the ODA projects, slow progress in capital disbursement was a main obstacle that needed to be removed, Fujita Yasuo said.

Besides this, slow progress of project approval by concerned Vietnamese offfices and slow pace of ground clearance seriously affected project implemementation.

Fujita Yasuo said the obstacles would impact Việt Nam’s sustainable economic development and keep foreign investors away.

To accelerate Japanese ODA projects, JICA asked the Vietnamese Government to review and simplify procedures to disburse capital soon.

In the future, JICA would focus on projects that used capital from private businesses, he said. — VNS