French agency offers record sponsorships to Vietnam in 2014

The French Development Agency (AFD) sponsored a record 89.3 million EUR (about 100.5 million USD) for a number of development projects across Vietnam in 2014, a press conference revealed in Hanoi on June 11.
The French Development Agency (AFD) sponsored a record 89.3 million EUR(about 100.5 million USD) for a number of development projects acrossVietnam in 2014, a press conference revealed in Hanoi on June 11.

Notable projects included the pilot metro line No. 3 in Hanoi (69million EUR), a climate change response support programme (20 millionEUR) and the Ngu Ha River rehabilitation project in Hue city (300,000EUR), highlighted AFD Director in Vietnam Remi Genevey.

In 2015, the agency will continue providing loans for the VietnameseGovernment to carry out projects on renewable energy, river deltainfrastructure development and climate change adaptation, among others,he added.

On May 19, the AFD signed an agreement toprovide Vietnam with a concessional loan of 20 million EUR (over 22.38million USD) for phase five of the Support Programme to Respond toClimate Change (SPRCC).

The loan addsup to 100 million EUR (over 111.98 million USD) of the agency’s totalsupport to the SPRCC, initiated by the AFD and the Japan InternationalCooperation Agency in 2009 to assist the local Government in sectorreforms to cope with climate change effectively and encourage low CO2emissions.

Climate change impact prevention is thefocus of the AFD’s activities in Vietnam. Between 2006 and 2014, theagency earmarked 471 million EUR for 16 development projects withenvironmental benefits in the country.-VNA

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