Washington DC, January 29, 2013 - The World Bank Board of Executive Directors today approved an additional financing of US$156.0 million to the on-going Mekong Delta Transport Infrastructure Development Project, with an aim to relieving key bottlenecks in the main transport corridors in the Mekong Delta region and improving access of the poor to those corridors.
Specifically, the additional financing will be used to improve the standard of national trunk roads connecting the main economic hub of the Mekong Delta, to improve the standard of trunk waterways connecting the Northern and Coastal Delta areas to Can Tho and HCMC, and to improve the connectivity of poorer and more distant producer communities by upgrading feeder roads, ports, and landing stages at the district and provincial levels in the Mekong Delta.
By the time of completion at the end of 2015, the Project is expected to reduce average rice barge travel time from Rach Gia to HCMC by 5 hours, average travel time by truck on National highway 91 by 10%, fatality rate on NH91 by 15%, and accident rate on inland waterway Corridor by 5%.
The money for the financing comes from the International Development Association – the World Bank’s concessional lending arm for low income country. The financing terms are IDA Blend Credit terms (1.25 percent per annum interest rate) with 25 years maturity including a grace period of 5years.
The original Project is co-financed by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) through a US$25.0 million equivalent grant. AusAID has approved an additional grant of US$15.0 million, under the AusAID-World Bank Strategic Partnership in Vietnam to this additional financing.
