Singapore, World Bank to Help Transportation Planning for the City of Danang, Vietnam
The Temasek Foundation, Singapore (TF), the World Bank (WB), and the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) signed today a Grant Agreement for a programme that will enable the government officials of the City of Danang, to learn from Singapore’s experience in urban transportation planning.
The programme will provide advisory and capacity building activities that will eventually improve the transport system in Danang. Under the agreement, the Temasek Foundation, Singapore, will provide a grant of SGD $915,185 while the City of Danang, Vietnam will provide SGD $239,080. The Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) is the lead agency that will bring relevant experts from Singapore to customise a 12-month programme in assisting the City of Danang to prepare an urban transport plan and deliver a series of capacity building programmes for 210 government officials in the City of Danang.
The Grant Agreement was signed by Mr. Van Huu Chien, Vice Chairman of Danang People’s Committee and Mr. Alphonsus Chia, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Cooperation Enterprise. It was witnessed by Mr. Benedict Cheong, Chief Executive Officer, Temasek Foundation and Mr. Dang Duc Cuong, Senior Urban Development Specialist, The World Bank.
The collaboration is part of the World Bank – Singapore Urban Hub’s ongoing support to Vietnam’s urban infrastructure development and financing programmes. The Urban Hub, established in 2009, provides a platform for the World Bank to bring together and share Singapore’s developmental expertise in urban management with World Bank’s client countries. Other Singapore Hub programmes in Vietnam include assisting with the preparation of a pilot PPP toll road project; providing hands-on training programmes for senior government officials on the PPP project cycle and financing; and conducting a PPP study tour focused on toll roads to Australia and India. The Danang programme is also well-aligned with the World Bank’s support to Vietnam’s municipal development through ongoing lending operations vis-a-vis several Local Development Investment Funds and strengthened capacity for improved municipal finance management.
The Government of Vietnam has a vision to modernise the country by 2025. The City of Danang is chosen for the development because of its strategic position as the port city and vital gateway linking the central region to the international market. The Danang People’s Committee is responsible for the city’s economic growth and urban development. In order to achieve a more sustainable plan to meet the future needs of Danang, the Danang People’s Committee has requested the World Bank and Singapore to help to develop a new urban transportation plan for the city that can be integrated with the latest city master plan.
Under the Grant Agreement, the programme aims to provide advisory and capacity building to assist the City of Danang in:
a) Achieving an in-depth understanding of the benefits and challenges for sustainable urban transport development through sharing Singapore’s model of environmentally, socially and economically sustainable urban transportation plan.
b) Optimising Danang’s transport efficiency through the development of the city’s urban transport plan.
c) Building leadership skills and on-the-job capacities for government officials in their respective transportation planning and management functions.
Mr. Alphonsus Chia, Chief Executive Officer of SCE said,
“SCE is happy to partner with international organisations like the World Bank in developmental projects in Vietnam. We are also glad to have the strong support of Temasek Foundation in sharing Singapore’s experience in urban transport planning with the Danang People’s Committee. We look forward to working closely with the officials from Danang and hope that this partnership will lead to new cooperation opportunities with Vietnam.”
“Temasek Foundation is pleased to support this programme as it is aligned with our focus on capability-building of communities in Asia. With the leadership and initiative of the Danang People’s Committee and Singapore Cooperation Enterprise, this programme will help to contribute to Danang’s overall plans to build an efficient urban transportation system,”
said Mr Benedict Cheong, Chief Executive Officer of Temasek Foundation.
Jointly Issued by Temasek Foundation, The World Bank and Singapore Cooperation Enterprise
