Japan has so far provided a total of USD 236 million in development aid for central Thua Thien-Hue province to implement a series of projects on public services and social issues, said a provincial official on Nov. 11th, 2008.
According to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Ngo Hoa, the Japanese aid came in the form of grants and official development assistance (ODA) projects from the Japan Agency for International Cooperation (JICA) and preferential loans from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).
Prominent among Japan’s assistance programmes was a USD 30 million project to provide equipment and build an intensive healthcare centre for the Hue Central Hospital.
Besides, Japan’s non-governmental organizations have supported nearly USD 5 million for educational programmes and projects assisting street children in the province.
The WASEDA Heritage Institute has coordinated with the province to implement projects worth over USD 4 million in total to preserve the Hue ancient royal relics and the Hue court music, which has been recognized as part of the World Cultural Heritage.
Hue city has also established economic, cultural and tourism ties with several Japanese cities, including Shizuoka, Okinawa and Yokohama.