(VOVworld) – Japan will not stop official development assistance (ODA) projects in Vietnam but only temporarily suspend part of its ODA related to a bribery case.

A representative of the Ministry of Planning and Investment said in response to Japan’s announcement to the Vietnamese government on Monday that it will temporarily suspend ODA due to an alleged bribery case involving a Japanese-funded Hanoi urban railway project. The recent bribery case involved Japan Transportation Consultants Inc. (JTC) and some ODA transportation projects. Japan said if they detected any faults in the contracts involved the JTC, Japan International Cooperation Agency would stop disbursement. Meanwhile, Vietnam will have to be responsible for investigating other JTC contracts involving the Vietnam Railways Corp. Japan will temporarily suspend ODA to JTC transportation contracts in Vietnam, but other ODA projects will still operate as normal.

The Minister of Transport, Dinh La Thang, said the Ministry would take strong measures to manage transparently the ODA capital.

Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang (Photo: VOV)

Mr. Thang said the most important thing was to strictly deal with the case and tightly manage the ODA to prevent any recurrence. Mr. Thang: "The Ministry of Transport has asked for the investigation of projects involving the Japan Transportation Consultants Inc., the Vietnam Railways Corp. and ODA transportation projects. It is necessary to determine and improve any shortcomings in the sector".