2 days ago
Vietnam touts $48 billion in project investments to spur growth
HANOI — Vietnam on Tuesday said around 250 projects, with investments totalling about US$48 billion, are being pursued in the country as the government seeks to show it is boosting economic growth.
The state is funding 129 projects ranging from urban development to transportation with a total investment of about 478 trillion dong ($18 billion), according to a statement on the government's website. Another roughly $30.5 billion in investments for 121 projects financed by other sources, including from a handful of foreign companies, are simultaneously getting underway, it said.
The new ventures include the Rach Mieu 2 Bridge in the Mekong Delta, the Saigon Marina International Financial Centre, state-owned Viettel Group's Research and Development Centre and the Vingroup JSC-developed National Exhibition and Convention Centre in Hanoi.
The investments are estimated to be equivalent to about 13% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said, speaking in Hanoi. The projects will transform the 'state of our country's strategic infrastructure,' Chinh said.
The Southeast Asian nation has been stepping up a drive to achieve its GDP growth target of at least 8% this year despite global uncertainties and the government's ongoing efforts to work out the details of a US trade deal that will see a 20% tariff imposed on Vietnamese goods.
Premier Chinh last month urged officials to come up with immediate and long-term measures to restructure the economy and support growth. Chinh aims for GDP expansion of 8.3% to 8.5% this year.
