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DAM-L LS: World Bank holds workship on private funding of dams in Vietnam (fwd)
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subject: LS: World Bank holds workship on private funding of dams in Vietnam
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http://wbln0018.worldbank.org/news/pressrelease.nsf/5875b38e6a76b0478525678c0058
6146/92765f2d41f0d8f5852568dc0077616f?OpenDocument
News Release No:
2000/343
Contact Person:
Hoang Thanh Ha
Tel: (84-4) 8-432-234 Fax: (84-4) 8-432-471
E-mail: hha@worldbank.org
World Bank, Government of Vietnam and Keidanren Concludes Second
Workshop on Private Participation in Hydropower Projects in Vietnam
Hanoi, May 10, 2000-Today the World Bank, Government of Vietnam and Keidanren
(the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations) held a joint workshop to
discuss a draft report, "Private Sector Participation in Hydroelectric Power
Projects in Vietnam," with Vietnamese officials, foreign investors and the
international donor community.
The workshop concluded a series of activities of the World Bank-Keidanren
Partnership Initiative: seminars, study-tours, consultants' work and
tripartite
meetings. These activities were aimed at supporting the Government of Vietnam
with state-of-the-art advise on ways of promoting private participation in
hydro-power development. The final report of this partnership will be
published,
based on comments of the Government and other private sector
representatives at
the workshop, to allow wider dissemination and further discussion of the
issues.
The Partnership Initiative agreement, signed in October 1998, aimed to combine
the technical and financing skills of the Japanese private sector (through
Keidanren) with the World Bank's knowledge of developing countries'
infrastructure sectors, to provide technical advise on a difficult subject.
Establishing regulatory and institutional frameworks that encourage private
participation in hydroelectric power projects and ensuring appropriate
financing
arrangements is complex and private sector advice on these issues has proven
valuable in other countries.
"The Keidanren-World Bank partnership initiative provided Japan's business
community with greater understanding of the World Bank's work and the report
discussed at the workshop made valuable suggestions on policies and financing
arrangements for possible establishment of hydropower BOT projects," said Mr.
Katsuhiro Fujiwara, managing director of Keidanren. "Japanese businesses
that are interested in investing in Vietnam, would ask the World Bank and the
Government of Vietnam, to remain engaged in improving the institutional and
regulatory environment, to realize Government's goal of private
participation in
the energy sector, in general and in hydropower projects, in particular."
Vietnam's need for investments in infrastructure continue to outstrip its
budgetary resources and donor capacity to finance that need. Private
participation in infrastructure investments, especially in energy, will
thus be critical in the coming years, if the country's growth and
poverty-alleviation objectives are to be met.
At the workshop, Mr. Lai Huu The from the Ministry of Industry, who heads the
working group, said "Hydropower development in Vietnam is necessary, not only
for the supply of sufficient energy but also for agriculture and national
socio-environment development. But private investment in hydropower projects
under BOT is a new issue in Vietnam. There is thus need for more information,
analysis and discussion, aimed at improving institutions to attract
domestic and
foreign investors. We highly appreciate this initiative of the World Bank and
Keidanren in preparing this useful report and in organizing the workshop."
The consultant's report, using other countries' experience, shows how the
enabling environment could be improved in Vietnam and how the financing
arrangements for private hydroelectric power projects should be set up to
ensure
appropriate allocation of risks between the government and the private
sponsors.
The latter is especially important, given the high up-front capital cost of
hydropower projects.
The Government, the World Bank and Keidanren helped to make this initiative to
be a success. The Ministry of Industry, as the main Government counterpart,
set
up an inter-ministerial working group of government leaders that permitted
regular and effective exchange of views with the WorldBank-Keidanren
partnership. World Bank assigned a team and Keidanren established an Advisory
Committee of experienced business executives for that purpose.
"The partnership is an important milestone in the Bank's collaboration with
the
private sector for improving technical advice on complex projects that have to
rely on private financing for their success," said Mr. Aldo Baietti, the World
Bank task manager for this partnership. "This initiative is very much in line
with our President's desire to partner with various groups in the world, to
bring their comparative strengths to bear on difficult development
problems, all
aimed at alleviating poverty."
==
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