Discussion on local bridge construction project and road asset management

Delegates attending the meeting at Dien Bien province bridge.

According to the report of Dien Bien Provincial People's Committee, in the period of 2016 - 2021, the bridge component - Investment project for construction of people's bridges and management of local assets (LRAMP) with WB loan capital has deployed and completed and put into use 72 bridge works with a total investment of 238.83 billion VND (WB loan capital and counterpart capital of the Government of Vietnam) in 9 districts and towns.

For the next phase of the LRAMP-FO project, Dien Bien province proposed 1 local road construction component with 4 projects, including: 3 provincial roads and 1 district road with a total length of about 75.5km; implementation period from 2025 - 2029. The total investment of the project is about 1,495.7 billion VND (Group B project), equivalent to 62.3 million USD. The capital structure includes: WB ODA loan of 1,134.6 billion VND (equivalent to 47.2 million USD) and counterpart capital of 361.1 billion VND (15.1 million USD). The above projects are consistent with the Road Network Development Plan for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050 approved by the Prime Minister and the Dien Bien Provincial Planning for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050.

At the meeting, representatives of the World Bank and the provinces discussed two difficult and problematic issues: the current cost of IBRD loans, including: Floating SOFR interest rate plus variable spread costs, loan arrangement fees, commitment fees at the present time of approximately 5.96% - 6.46%/year and the mechanism and method of implementing projects according to current regulations. Dien Bien province requested the sponsor to consider reducing the interest rate associated with the aid.

Based on the discussions at the meeting, the WB suggested that the provinces continue to research and will organize a meeting between the parties to discuss and agree on the remaining issues by the end of December 2024.

Source: https://baodienbienphu.com.vn/tin-tuc/kinh-te/219776/thao-luan-ve-du-an-xay-dung-cau-dia-phuong-va-quan-ly-tai-san-duong-bo