The project will be carried out from May 2009 to June 2012 in 14 cities and provinces, including Hanoi , Ha Nam , Hai Phong, Ninh Binh, Nam Dinh, Thai Binh, Hung Yen, Hai Duong, Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, Vinh Phuc, Phu Tho, Tuyen Quang and Quang Ninh.

It aims to help Vietnam to upgrade its waterway transport infrastructure through the development of a multi-vehicle transport corridor and a system of ferries, as well as improving the management capacity for the Ministry of Transport, the Inland Waterways Department and target provinces.

WB’s Acting Director in Vietnam Martin Rama stressed that the project will not only help to increase waterway transport safety but also to reduce road traffic jams and accidents.

This will be the WB’s second waterway transport project to be carried out in Vietnam, following the one in the Mekong Delta, he added.

As a result of poor-quality infrastructure, waterway transport in the northern region is yet to operate at full capacity, even though it is a low-cost and extremely safe mode of transport.

Under the country’s recently-amended plan outlining waterway transport development until 2020, more than 40 trillion VND is expected to be poured into infrastructure development during the 2010-2020 period.