Vietnam plans to secure $5.5 billion in foreign loans in 2026 as it seeks to speed up the construction of large-scale national infrastructure projects and tackle persistent bottlenecks in the disbursement of development finance, its government said on Friday.
Last month, the Southeast Asian nation commenced construction on 234 infrastructure projects worth 3,400 trillion dong ($129.42 billion). Of the total, 18% will be funded by the state, with the remainder to come from private and other investors.
The government did not give a breakdown of the planned 2026 foreign loans or provide detail about the types of borrowing, which are expected to include official development assistance, concessional loans, and other forms of external financing.
In 2025, Vietnam secured $624 million in new ODA and concessional loans for 10 projects, a level consistent with the previous year, according to Deputy Finance Minister Tran Quoc Phuong. However, only 35.27% was disbursed, a decrease from the prior year’s rate, Phuong told the National Steering Committee on ODA.
Phuong said the delays were caused bya broad range of challenges including the need to clear land and resettle residents and the difficulty of approving construction projects in forest areas, as well as bidding processes, tax complications, and prolonged loan negotiations.
Issues with land pricing and adjustments to loan agreements further compounded the obstacles, he said.
The government has prioritised public investment as a key driver of the economy, and has set its 2026 GDP growth target at over 10%. A new ODA strategy for the 2026–2030 period aims to attract up to $38 billion, primarily for major infrastructure development.
Vietnam last year amended its public debt management law to streamline processes and delegate more authority for ODA agreement negotiations and address the procedural inefficiencies.
(Reuters)
