Hanoi (VNA) – The World Bank(WB) in Vietnam on June 23 announced that it has recently approved a 300million USD fund to support Vietnam in enhancing transport connectivity incountryside and forest protection in eight coastal localities.

Two projects to receive financing include theCentral Highlands Connectivity Improvement Project and the Forest Sector Modernisation and Coastal Resilience Enhancement Project.

Half of the funding (150 million USD) will bespent to the connectivity improvement project, which is designed to upgrade 142kilometres of National Highway 19 and strengthen transport safety andresilience to national disasters. 

Once the project is finished, communities inBinh Dinh and Gia Lai provinces will benefit from easier access to markets,reduced commuting time and better road safety. The upgraded highway is expectedto serve up to 6,200 light motor vehicles per day.

The other half of the financing will support themanagement of coastal forests in Quang Tri, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, QuangBinh, Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Ninh provinces and Hai Phong city. 

The project is hoped to create jobs for residentsin more than 900 communities across 257 communes in eight benefiting localitieswhile offering opportunities for ecotourism and aquaculture development.

Investing in environmentally-sustainableprojects is investing in the future of Vietnam, said Ousmane Dione, the WBCountry Director for Vietnam, adding that the WB fully supports Vietnam’sefforts to strengthen its resilience to climate change and to serve the needsof communities and businesses. 

The projects are the most vivid examples ofimplementing the WB’s Country Partnership Framework that strengthens Vietnam’ssustainability and economic development in the long term, he noted. -VNA