Provincial People's Committee leaders work with World Bank delegation

On the morning of April 18, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Pham Anh Tuan and Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Tu Cong Hoang had a meeting with the World Bank (WB) delegation led by Ms. Yoonhee Kim, Director of the East Asia - Pacific Region's Department of Climate Change Adaptation and Land, to work with the Provincial People's Committee on the Integrated Adaptation Development Project - Binh Dinh Province. Also receiving and working were leaders of relevant departments and branches of the province.

Reception and working scene

The Integrated Adaptive Development Project - Binh Dinh Province uses loans from the World Bank (WB), approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 265/QD-TTg dated December 31, 2021; the Provincial People's Committee approved the investment in construction of the project in Decision No. 3617/QD-UBND dated November 4, 2022.

The project is invested by the Binh Dinh Provincial Agricultural and Rural Development Project Management Board, implemented in the following localities: Tuy Phuoc district, Phu My district, Hoai Nhon town and Quy Nhon city.

The total investment of the project is VND 2,659.96 billion (equivalent to USD 115.15 million), of which the loan from the World Bank is VND 1,579.96 billion (accounting for 59.4%), the counterpart capital from the local budget is VND 1,080 billion (accounting for 40.6%). The project implementation period is until 2031.

The overall objective of the project is to improve access to climate-resilient infrastructure services and strengthen capacity for disaster risk-resilient development planning and management.

Ms. Yoonhee Kim committed to the project being implemented soon.

At the meeting, Ms. Yoonhee Kim said that in early May 2025, the WB will have an internal meeting to decide to move to the project appraisal stage, proceed to negotiate and sign the loan agreement. Binh Dinh has patiently waited for this project for many years and the WB will strive to speed up the implementation of necessary procedures to soon implement this project.

The WB delegation members also appreciated the province's proactive implementation of compensation policies for households within the project's scope of influence; at the same time, they asked the province to pay attention to the WB's compensation and support policy framework for implementation, in order to limit the occurrence of many related issues after the loan agreement is signed.

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Tu Cong Hoang discussed at the working session

At the meeting, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Tu Cong Hoang informed that social and compensation policies will be completed and sent to the working delegation before April 28, 2025, and requested the World Bank to conduct an internal assessment in mid-May 2025. Binh Dinh will speed up all issues related to ministries, branches, and the Government with Quang Nam province to sign the loan agreement as soon as possible. The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee said that Binh Dinh province's compensation policy is very good. We have completed 80% of resettlement, using the province's counterpart capital. We hope to implement the project in 2025.

Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Pham Anh Tuan spoke at the meeting.

Speaking at the meeting, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Pham Anh Tuan said that the progress of project preparation is too slow, affecting the investment plan and attracting investment for socio-economic development of the province.

According to the direction of the Central Government, the coming years will see double-digit growth, but to grow, there must be infrastructure. This 38km coastline is an economic zone, with many large projects, all industry and sea located in this area. Therefore, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested the World Bank to pay attention, consider this a special project, and give maximum priority to Binh Dinh province to soon complete the necessary procedures to be able to start the project in October 2025. "We have been waiting for 2 years now and cannot wait any longer," the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee emphasized.

The province will commit to the World Bank to speed up the progress. At the same time, it will work with the Ministry of Finance and the Central Government to prioritize support for the province to implement this project.

Regarding compensation and site clearance, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee said that Binh Dinh has a lot of experience, has a very good compensation and resettlement policy and is ready to provide capital for implementation. The head of the Provincial Government affirmed, "Any household affected by the project, including the Integrated Adaptive Development Project, the province must ensure maximum benefits for the people, the principle is to have a better place to live than the old place, we make the resettlement area like a new urban area so that people can feel that life is more worth living when affected by the project. Along with that, the bidding packages are also publicly bid, ensuring that the contractor must have experience and financial capacity".

Ms. Yoonhee Kim expressed her gratitude for the province's determination and pledged to do her best to soon implement the project.