The World Bank said that it would provide Vietnam with a US$200 million loan for the country's urban upgrade project in Mekong delta, the local newspaper People's Army reported on Monday.

The loan was announced by the bank at a seminar recently held by Vietnam's Ministry of Construction at a Mekong delta Can Tho province of Vietnam.

According to a report by the ministry, the country's urban upgrade project had been carried out in some localities of Vietnam, and brought in pronounced benefits for local residents, especially for the low-income people.

To duplicate benefits brought by the project, the government of Vietnam decided to implement the project in other Mekong delta provinces of Vietnam in the coming years, said the newspaper.

It is expected that more Vietnamese residents in Mekong delta provinces would receive better facilities to better serve their lives, said the newspaper.

(Xinhua News Agency June 15, 2009)