The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a loan of US$45 million to support a clean water and hygienic project in the central coastal provinces of Vietnam.

The loan agreement was signed here on Tuesday by ADB Country Director for Vietnam Ayumi Konishi and governor of State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Van Giau.

Speaking at the ceremony, Giau said that this project would provide clean water and hygienic toilets to 350,000 people in six central coastal provinces of Binh Dinh, Ha Tinh, Nghe An, Quang Binh, Quang Nam and Thanh Hoa.

The project would help people in these provinces have a chance to enjoy a better living quality. It would be also a good example for other localities to develop their environment, he added.

Ayumi Konishi, ADB Country Director for Vietnam said the project would improve the health as well as living conditions of residents in rural areas.

ADB hoped the loan would help Vietnam achieve the Millennium Development Goal for water supply and sanitation, Konishi said.

At the meeting, Giau said that Vietnam appreciated the assistance of ADB and expected to see further cooperation between Vietnam and ADB this year.

(Xinhua News Agency February 3, 2010)