In a press release on December 22, the WB said this loan is in acknowledgement of Vietnam’s efforts to move a step closer today to its goal of reaching middle-income status by 2010.

“This is a significant milestone for Vietnam, a country which has moved from the category of ‘High Indebted Poor Country’ to middle income status in less then seven years,” said Jim Adams, the WB’s Vice President for the East Asia and Pacific region.

Meanwhile, the WB’s Country Director for Vietnam, Victoria Kwakwa, said the quality of Vietnam’s future growth will depend on public investment reforms.

The areas strengthened under the reform program include environmental screening of publicly funded infrastructure projects, environmental management, project preparation and appraisal, procurement, public financial management, the regulatory framework for private participation in infrastructure and monitoring and evaluation.