Viet Nam will receive 1 billion USD from Japan in official development assistance (ODA) loans to fund seven power, infrastructure, education, and environment projects.

The diplomatic note on the grant was signed by Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh and Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Hiroshi Fukada in Ha Noi on Tuesday.

The loan, which is meant for the 2014 fiscal year, is ready for disbursement within 2015, according to the agreement. The 2014 fiscal year began on April 1 last year and concluded on March 31 this year.

Vo Van Kiet Boulevard, funded by ODA loans from Japan, is seen in this photo taken in Ho Chi Minh City.

The ODA grant is intended to help Vietnam implement seven projects, including the construction of the 9.87 billion yen (82.5 million USD) Thai Binh 1 thermal power plant in Thai Binh Province and a 29.78 billion yen (249 million USD) power distribution network.

About 14.91 billion yen and 1.06 billion yen from the grant will be earmarked for two power supply systems, in Dong Nai Province and Ha Long City, respectively.

A project to build the north-to-south expressway part that connects Ben Luc District in Long An Province and Long Thanh District in Dong Nai will get funding worth 31.32 billion yen from the ODA loan.

Another 15 billion yen will be granted to stage five of the national climate change resilience program, whereas 10.45 billion yen will be used to improve the training and scientific research ability of Can Tho University, located in the eponymous city in the Mekong Delta.

Japan has provided Viet Nam with ODA loans for the past 20 years and the latest grant proves that the assistance is not only meant for traffic infrastructure development but also for other fields such as education, Ambassador Fukada said at the signing ceremony.

Viet Nam respects the aid and hopes to receive more ODA from the Japanese government in the future, the minister said.

Japan is Viet Nam’s largest ODA provider. The East Asian country has granted more than 2 billion yen in ODA loans to Viet Nam since 1992.

Forty-three percent of the grants are earmarked for traffic infrastructure development, while environment and healthcare projects receive 15% of the total loans.

(1 billion yen = $8.36 million)