ADB approves $20 mln loans for Binh Duong waste management project

Vietnamese water supply company Biwase has tapped development financial institutions for new $20 million financing for a waste management and energy efficiency project in the southern industrial province of Binh Duong.

The funding, approved by the Asian Development Bank as seen in an ADB disclosure Wednesday, comprised a $7 million official development assistance (ODA) loan from Japan, another $7 million loan from ordinary capital resources, and a $6 million loan from Leading Asia's Private Infrastructure Fund (LEAP).

The proceeds will be used to finance the operation and expansion of a composting plant with a capacity of 840 tons per day, and an industrial and municipal solid waste incinerator using waste-to-energy technology with a capacity of 200 tons per day at the South Binh Duong Solid Waste Treatment Complex, according to ADB.

LEAP is an ADB-managed fund capitalized with a $1.5 commitment from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, or JICA.

JICA in November 2020 concluded a loan agreement to provide Binh Duong-based Biwase with a maximum of $8 million to help improve the province’s water environment. This financing was part of JICA’s “Initiative on Overseas Loan and Investment for ASEAN”, announced in November 2019, and was implemented through co-financing with ADB. JICA did not specify this ADB contribution.

In Binh Duong, Biwase has carried out sewerage projects through Japanese ODA loans, such as the Southern Binh Duong Province Water Environment Improvement Project (loan agreement in 2007) and the Southern Binh Duong Province Water Environment Improvement Project - Phase Two (loan agreement in 2012).