Vietnam’s GDP growth to slow next year: ADB

By Toan Dao June 17, 2016 | 03:20 am PT

Vietnam is expected to achieve gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.5 percent next year, slightly below this year's target, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Friday.

For this year, ADB believes the country’s GDP target of 6.7 percent is achievable although there is a downside risk due to an ongoing severe drought and salinity in the Mekong Delta. The country’s inflation this year is also expected to go up to three percent, from 0.6 percent in 2015.

Vietnam has increasingly been exposed to climate change effects, such as drought, salinity and floods, which seriously affected agriculture, forestry and fishery sectors. Therefore, ADB’s loans will focus on helping Vietnam adapt to climate change and relieve its adverse affects.

ADB President Takehiko Nakao (R) and Vietnam's President Tran Dai Quang (L). Photo by ADB

ADB has recently approved $3 million in grant assistance from its Asia Pacific Disaster Response Fund to support relief efforts in the wake of the drought and salt water intrusion in the South Central, Central Highlands and Mekong Delta regions.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked ADB to provide financial support to help Vietnam deal with climate change, including drought and salinity in the Mekong Delta.

Phuc made the suggestions in a meeting with ADB President Takehiko Nakao who is on a three-day visit to Vietnam concluding June 17, the Vietnamese government portal said in a statement on Thursday.

Over the last few months, the prolonged drought caused by El Nino has had devastating consequences for hundreds of thousands of plantations as well as the lives of two million people in the southern and central parts of the country.

The prolonged drought has also caused severe saltwater intrusion in 10 out of 13 provinces throughout the Mekong Delta, with saltwater intruding 20-25 kilometers further inland compared with seasonal averages.

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